Rayna Riddle: The Perfect Lie
by bali-eyes
Summary: Rayna Riddle, the daughter of Lord Voldemort, has always been shunned by the wizarding world. When her father returns, will she stay true to the light, or turn to the Death Eaters? Mature content/Dark Winning. Eventual pairing that won't be the main focus
1. A Strange Dream

**A/N: I've already written so much of the story that I figured I would start posting it now. If you haven't already, there is a trailer for it; the link can be found in my profile. Just a warning, this will contain a lot of dark content and won't be the usual; Voldemort's daughter befriends the golden trio and falls in love with Harry Potter story. Actually, it will be quite the opposite. ****So if you hate Death Eaters and Voldemort, I suggest you don't bother reading this. **

**DISCLAIMER: I am not J.. Nothing concerning the Harry Potter universe belongs to me. **

Chapter One: A Strange Dream

As she stood with her wand stretched out firmly in front of her, the illuminated tip revealed nothing but shelves upon shelves of varying glass orbs for as far as the eye could see. Though she wasn't able to recall how she arrived there, the place could not have felt more real as she wandered along the vast hallways making up the seemingly endless room. For a moment she stopped, letting the dark room silence as her echoing footsteps ceased to resonate throughout the hall; she turned to face one of the lengthy shelves, reaching forward to pull one of the cloudy spheres off of the table before examining it thoroughly while turning it over in her hand. After setting it back in its place, she noticed a small, withered and yellowing bit of parchment attached to its platform reading, _"Harry Potter."_

She let go of the tag almost as quickly as she read it, letting it fall back to its place on the table next to the ball with which it belonged. Why she had been drawn to that particular prophesy was unknown to her, and the sick feeling that was beginning to plague her stomach as she stood idly in that room told her that she needed to get out of their fast. Behind her, she felt a chilling and unnatural wind brush past her figure, prompting her to turn her head to the right after it. Though she was startled, it was nothing in comparison to the stomach-lurching fear she felt the second she heard the soft hissing of unintelligible words coming from a bright blue, cloudy orb only a few rows away from where she stood.

"_Rayna…" _ The almost inaudible voice whispered softly, drawing her over toward it despite the terror that now consumed her.

With forced bravery she let her legs carry her to the shining ball; her long fingers gripped the bit of attached parchment. _"Rayna Riddle,"_ it read plainly. She understood then; the room she was trapped in was the famous "Hall of Prophesy," rumored to be located deep within a chamber of the Department of Mysteries. Though she struggled to understand why or how she had gotten there, things were beginning to make a little more sense to her. She set the tag down before picking up the brightly glowing sphere; though she was expecting to hear anything from a horoscope update to who she was destined to marry, she was not expecting for the ball to remain completely impassive. She stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to think as nothing revealed itself in the cloudy-blue mist. Thinking it was defective, or that it had been addressed to her by mistake, she shook it frantically, trying but not succeeding to make it work.

"_Rayna…" _The voice continued, though it was more distinct and clear; the tone so cold and uncaring that the sound of it alone was enough to make the hair on her arms stand on end.

She dropped the prophesy before she was able to register what was going on, causing it to fall and break into hundreds of glass shards littering the floor. The loud gasp leaving her lips prompted a light chuckle to echo throughout the hall as though it were reverberating from the very depths of her mind. She recognized it at once as belonging to the same voice that had been whispering her name, drawing her to the blank prophesy that was now scattered aimlessly about the ground.

"_Rayna, don't fear me." _She turned around abruptly, trying desperately to pinpoint where the mysterious voice was coming from, _"I know what you want, and I can help you." _

"Who are you?" She asked softly, stopping in her tracks when she realized the owner of the voice was nowhere in sight.

For one longing moment there was no answer, only dead silence as she clutched one trembling hand in the other, a pitiful attempt at trying to maintain her ever dwindling composure. She felt her stomach drop and her breath catch in her throat as a strong wind came up from behind her, accompanied by a foggy black mist that seemed to grow thicker and thicker as it loomed into view. The mist started to take the form of a man, but the clearer the figure became, the less human it looked. Pale and snake-like, with waxy features and a nearly flattened nose, she now knew who she was talking to.

From his place at her side, he turned to stand in front of her, his lavish black robes billowing behind him with every step. For the first time since she was an infant she was staring into the face of Lord Voldemort, the man responsible for her less than ideal standing within the wizarding world. Though for nearly every witch and wizard alive this would have instilled the utmost fear and apprehension, she felt strangely comforted by his presence. From as long as she could remember, she had been guilty by association; the product of another man's experiences. Even in a thirteen-year absence, the wizarding world didn't dare to speak his name; portrayed to resemble a god, he was cruel, manipulative and cold; the epitome of fear itself. Her world was equally as dark and cruel, dealing her what most would consider the worst of circumstances. None the less, the company of that man wasn't nearly as terrifying to her as the company of all the people who despised her based on her heritage, watched over her like a hawk, and secluded her from the rest of the world.

"_They have taught you to hate me Rayna," _Voldemort spoke softly, moving in closer toward her with every step, _"but you will soon realize they are only manipulating you."_

With that, the man she once knew only as a ghost of her past became very real to her. As the scene began to fade away he stretched one of his long, pale fingers out to caress her cheek; though it was still far from loving, it was more than any of her previous guardians had bothered to show her up until this point.

…

"Rayna?"

Sweating and visibly disturbed, Rayna was thrown back into reality as she woke from her dream. Though she could hardly make sense of her surroundings, who she was with, and what just happened, she tried her hardest to calm herself when she heard her friends calling her name. She slowly began to make sense of things, separating dreams from reality as she focused her eyes and let herself adjust to the unnaturally unfamiliar setting. She pulled herself up from where she was leaning comfortably against the window and steadied her breathing before finally gathering the strength to address her friends; the dream seemed to have taken all of her energy and attention, making it that much more difficult to adjust. Once she caught her breath she removed her gaze from the flashing horizon just beyond the compartment window to look over at her three friends.

"Sorry," Rayna said breathlessly, though it didn't turn out quite as convincing as she had hoped, "bad dream."

"Yeah I'll say," Ron replied casually, though it came out sounding slightly insensitive, prompting Hermione to hit him in the side.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with worry, "We tried to wake you, but you wouldn't move."

"Yeah," Rayna replied, gradually regaining a more composed tone, "I'm fine –really."

Though she was progressively tuning back to her former self, the feeling of absolute dread and a sheer longing for acceptance lingered in the very pit of her stomach. As her three friends stared back at her, she couldn't help but take her father's words into consideration; maybe everything wasn't as clear as it had once seemed, with the unpredictable and inconsistent state of the wizarding world, it was nearly impossible to know who to trust and who not to.

"Is something wrong?" Rayna asked curiously, trying but failing to justify why the three of them continued to stare at her in disbelief.

"You were speaking parseltongue Rayna," Harry said suddenly, a hint of accusation in his voice.

"Harry honestly," Hermione said defensively, turning toward him as she shot him a harsh look she didn't mean for Rayna to see, "she was dreaming, she couldn't have known. She probably just remembered something you've said."

"She's the daughter of _you-know-who_," Ron said quietly, "of course she's a parseltongue."

Rayna shot Ron a glare before turning back to Hermione, who was still trying to sort through all of the different possibilities and scenarios that could have been the reason for her sudden change of tongue. Rayna felt her stomach knot, knowing that none of this explaining and mistrust would be happening if she would have just told them the truth to begin with. Contrary to popular belief, Rayna had always denied possessing the ability to speak to snakes in hopes that it would help others to distinguish her from her father. Hiding it, even from her closest friends, had always been in her best interest; admitting it would bring only more ridicule from the wizarding world, which already unfairly resented her.

"No, Hermione," Rayna began uneasily, resentfully deciding to face the truth rather than continue to hide behind a lie, "I am a parseltongue."

"But why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked curiously, though she looked more hurt than anything else.

"Think about it," Rayna replied, "would you want anyone to know?"

"Might've let your best friends know." Ron shot coarsely, though Rayna tried to ignore it and stop the tears threatening to rim her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Rayna said softly, "when you asked me if I could speak to snakes back in our second year, I lied because I didn't want to give anyone more reason to believe it was me who opened the Chamber of Secrets. I thought about telling you after that, but I didn't know how to."

"In the dream," Harry asked suddenly, slightly easing the thick tension engulfing the compartment, "who were you talking to?"

"I don't remember," Rayna answered uneasily before adding, "Why do you ask?"

"You asked who they were," Harry replied, his eyes boring into her as though he didn't quite buy it.

Though she hated lying to the few people she could trust, Rayna loathed the constant interrogation and accusation that followed along suit with everything pertaining to her father. From a young age she taught herself that when dealing with her inheritance, it was best to be as vague and evasive as possible.

"I hardly remember the dream," Rayna continued quietly, "I don't know why I reacted so badly."

Harry nodded, though the three of them still looked a bit worried and on edge. Sure, Rayna did remember the dream as clear as day, but she couldn't risk them getting involved. With her father, it felt like every time the subject was brought up she was interrogated by everyone from her friends to Albus Dumbledore himself. Sometimes the differences between her and the three Gryffindors were just too much to bear; where she was a Slytherin, they were Gryffindors, where they were the hope of the light, she was a child of evil; the list could go on infinitely.

"Rayna are you sure you're alright," Hermione added cautiously, "with _you-know-who_ at large again, there's no telling who he will go after. Maybe like Harry, there's a connection…"

"No," Rayna spat coldly, though she didn't mean to sound so icily harsh, "There is no connection between my father and I."

Hermione recoiled back in her seat, without a doubt shocked with her sudden vindictive demeanor. Rayna hated the way things would come out sometimes; she hated the way it immediately reminded people of her father. Unable to escape her father's huge, dark shadow, Rayna tried her hardest to beat out every attribute that remotely resembled her father but she couldn't do it without hiding behind lies and presenting a sort of false persona to everyone she knew and loved.

…

The remainder of the ride passed in silence; Rayna was brought back to reality as the train jolted to a not so subtle stop, the screeching of the brakes interrupting her train of thought. Though she shrugged the dream off as nothing at all, the thick tension engulfing their compartment was enough to convince the four of them otherwise; she hadn't stopped thinking about it the entire ride to Hogwarts. She closed her book, though she hadn't actually retained a single sentence the entire hour and a half she had been reading it, and filed out of the compartment behind her three friends. They stepped onto the platform under the cover of night and began to walk over to Hagrid, who was holding a wide lantern to light the way.

"I'm surprised the ministry's still letting you walk around free Potter, you better enjoy it while you can," a pale, blond boy named Draco said haughtily as he walked by, "I expect there's a cell in Azkaban with your name on it."

Harry lunged toward him in a fit of anger only to be restrained by Ron at the last minute. Rayna and Hermione exchanged looks of worry before walking up to them in an attempt to console Harry. Though Rayna was happy she was no longer the object of the wizarding world's ridicule, she found it unfair that Harry had to fall into dishonor for that to happen.

"What'd I tell you," Draco drawled as he passed further away with his friends, "complete nutter."

"Just stay away from me!" Harry shouted angrily, making one more attempt, in vain, to break free from Ron's grip.

"It's only Malfoy," Ron said quietly, loosening his grip as Harry calmed down, "what do you expect?"

Draco stopped for a moment, turning around on his heel before adopting a sly grin and looking over at Rayna, who shot him a glare that could have put some of the most vindictive and cruel death eaters to shame. Though he couldn't find it in him to maintain eye contact with her, he managed to uphold his look of unwavering confidence and disdain as addressed her.

"Oh, and Rayna, if what Potter says is true, and I assume you believe him" Draco added arrogantly, "then I would consider switching sides while you have the chance. I'm sure father dearest wouldn't appreciate you making friends with the enemy."

Draco turned around and went back to his friends, chatting loudly as he gloated about anything and everything he could think of. Rayna couldn't help herself, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand, wasting no time in positioning it directly at Malfoy. She began to speak, "Furnuncu-," but Hermione was quick to grab her wrist, stopping her mid-sentence before she could finish casting the curse.

"Rayna don't!" Hermione said firmly, "You'll be expelled!"

"He's not worth it Ray," Ron added, though she wasn't entirely convinced.

She lowered her wand and let Malfoy walk off, though Hermione kept her restrained for a few more moments before actually letting her go. Once the four of them composed themselves, they made their way to the carriages that would take them to the castle. As they reached the path to the castle, one of the ornate carriages was just departing, leaving them having to wait a moment before they were to catch the next one. There Neville stood, carrying a large, misshapen plant in his arms as he awaited the next carriage as well.

"Hey guys," Neville said, turning toward them eagerly.

"Hey Neville," Hermione replied casually, walking up to the path to stand beside him.

"What is it," Harry said as the next carriage arrived behind them, walking toward the front of it, though being sure to keep a marginal distance.

"What's what?" Ron asked curiously.

"That," Harry continued, "pulling the carriage."

"Nothing's pulling the carriage Harry," Hermione replied awkwardly, "it's pulling itself like always."

"Thestrals," Rayna said suddenly, finally remembering some of what she was reading on the train, "I was just reading about them."

"Who are you, Hermione?" Ron asked sarcastically, though he received a rough punch in the shoulder when Hermione heard him.

"They can only be seen by those who have seen someone die," Rayna added after shooting Ron a smirk.

"Can you see them?" Harry asked, turning to face her.

"No," Rayna replied simply.

The golden trio all exchanged glances, though Rayna knew they were all thinking the same thing: they either didn't believe her, or they were too shocked to think about not believing her. She was the first to file into the carriage, sitting across from a girl who had already boarded with long, pale blond hair and a peculiar paper held upside down in her hands that Rayna didn't recognize. Harry slid in next to her, followed by the others until the thestrals began to walk down the wide dirt path leading to the castle. Rayna tried to occupy herself by looking off into the distance or focusing her vision on her shoes, but she couldn't manage to get over the intense stare Luna seemed to be giving her.

"Excuse me," Rayna said suddenly, though Luna didn't seem to acknowledge her.

With that the other occupants looked her way, though Luna seemed to be stuck in the same dreamy gaze as when they first boarded. Rayna looked over at Hermione, who shrugged her shoulders before turning to chat with Ron.

"Wrackspurts," Luna replied dazedly.

"And those are?" Rayna replied a bit too rudely.

"Invisible creatures that fly into your ears and make your brain go fuzzy," Luna replied, trailing off absentmindedly before adding, "Your head's full of them."

Rayna didn't reply, not knowing what to say; she looked away, catching Harry's eye as he too gave the same uncertain shrug of his shoulders as Hermione did. The rest of the ride passed in silence, aside from Luna's light humming as she read the newest edition of, "The Quibbler." Soon enough the castle loomed into the distance, prompting them to jump off of the carriages and make their way inside along with all of the other students.

When they entered the great hall, they saw that as usual they were among the last students to arrive; Ron, Harry and Hermione all muttered brief good-byes before scurrying off to the Gryffindor table. Rayna walked over to the other end of the hall slowly, receiving glares from all of her fellow Slytherins that made her feel as though she had the Gryffindor crest stamped right in the middle of her forehead. Despite begging the sorting hat to put her in Gryffindor, or any other house for that matter, she had been placed in Slytherin, away from the only people she could consider friends. Unlike her father, who had all of Slytherin house wrapped around his finger in his day, she was the reject of Slytherin, a traitor worse than a Gryffindor. She sat down at the end of the table, next to a wide-set girl who inched over slightly in her seat as if Rayna was carrying some sort of disease before piling a few items of food on her plate.

"Hey Draco," Pansy Parkinson drawled from across the table, her voice loud enough to practically echo throughout the room, "How long do you think it will take for Riddle to become a death eater?"

"That depends," Draco replied arrogantly, "if her father doesn't kill her for being a traitor, I'd say she'll be off slaughtering mudbloods within a week."

Rayna glared, encasing the fork at her side with a death grip as she attempted to ignore them. From across the room she saw Dumbledore lock his eyes on her, so she tried to relax and make her obvious display of hatred less conspicuous, though she knew he wouldn't buy it. Draco, Pansy, and the rest of Slytherin table began to laugh, the drone of their shrill cackles echoing throughout her mind. She felt herself grow faint, standing up and grabbing a muffin from the table in front of her before rushing out of the great hall.

When she reached the castles corridors she felt her mind grow cloudy and her vision blur until she collapsed to the ground, having to prop herself up on a bench beneath one of the hallways enormous windowsills to regain her balance. She could hear faint hissing in her ears, as though it were coming from inside of her very mind. The strange sense of deja-vu that now consumed her brought her back to the dream she had on the train, making her all the more aware of exactly what would happen next as she lay helpless along the dark and deserted corridor.

"_Rayna," _her father's voice hissed eerily, _"don't hide it Rayna."_

"What do you want?" Rayna hissed back quietly, still wary of anyone who might be walking along the castle's corridors.

Rayna waited a moment, though there was no reply; instead, she felt her mind clear and her state of consciousness returning back to what it was. It was as though a huge load had been lifted from her shoulders, relieving her of the Closter phobia she felt as her father invaded her mind. Though she may have passed it off as hallucinations or a figment of her imagination, the voice felt entirely too real to be anything but. Rayna pulled herself up, bracing herself on the wall for another mere moment before walking down to the dungeons in hopes that she could go to bed early and avoid having to deal with any of her fellow Slytherin's for the rest of the evening.

As she approached the portrait guarding the entrance to the Slytherin common room, she realized she hadn't bothered to figure out what the password was before she left the great hall. Cursing under her breath, she walked up to the portrait in hopes that it hadn't been changed since last year, or that the arrogant old man would let her in out of the kindness of his heart. The second the portrait saw her all hope of that vanished; the glare of absolute distaste upon his face made that all too clear.

"Password," It drawled in a tone annoyingly similar to Malfoy's

"Sir," Rayna replied in the most polite voice she could muster, "I forgot to ask what the password is, would you mind just letting me in?"

"Of course not," the portrait spat back haughtily, making it absolutely clear that her hopes were nothing more than wishful thinking.

"Look," Rayna spat back, "I'm extremely tired. You know I'm in Slytherin, just let me in."

"I can't do that," the portrait continued, upturning its nose rudely in the air as he turned away from her.

Rayna sighed and slumped down to the floor with her back against the wall as she waited for someone to wander down to the common room. With half an hour remaining before the feast was officially over, Rayna buried her head in her hands as she wrapped her arms around her legs. Though she felt like screaming, crying or shooting devastating curses at the portrait, she refused to let it get to her, opting to close her eyes and let her thoughts drift somewhere else.

"Riddle?" a voice asked harshly, though she couldn't hear who it was; her arms were stretched over her ears, muffling her hearing.

"What?" Rayna replied irritably, not even bothering to look up at whomever it was that was addressing her.

"What are you doing?" It continued rudely, prompting Rayna to look up from her place on the floor.

"I don't know the password," Rayna replied coldly as she stared up to see a grinning Draco Malfoy.

"Serpent sortia," Draco said confidently as he walked up to the portrait, which gladly allowed him entrance.

Rayna glared as she walked in behind him, less than satisfied that it had been Malfoy who let her inside. She was just about to head up the stairs leading to the girls dormitories when she heard Draco's annoying drone behind her.

"Riddle," he drawled, prompting her to turn around just as she climbed the second step.

"Yes, Malfoy," she replied calmly, though she had to admit she was curious as to why he was bothering to talk to her.

"Sit down," he answered nonchalantly, recoiling back in his seat on the couch as he pointed to the chair next to him, "let's have a conversation."

"Have you lost your mind?" Rayna shot back, turning to head back up the stairs before she was interrupted, once again.

"I have something to give you," Draco said suddenly, his voice growing more annoying by the second.

Rayna turned around and began to walk back down the stairs, though she still wasn't convinced. She glared over at Malfoy as he reached into his robes and took out a neatly folded bit of parchment with an elegant, emerald green seal and silver designs etched in its surface. Rayna stopped for a moment, staring at him in utter confusion as he outstretched his arms and waved it flamboyantly in the air as if urging her to hurry up and take it. Rayna did so, walking forward for the remainder of the distance hastily before snatching it from his hands and stuffing it into her robes and turning around to continue her journey up the stairs.

When she reached her dorm she collapsed on top of her bed, burying her face in her pillow out of both exhaustion and disdain concerning her poor start to her fifth year at Hogwarts. When she heard footsteps she sat up straight, ready to face whatever rude comments and gestures the bitches of Slytherin house were going to throw at her.

"What do you think you're doing Riddle?" Pansy shrieked angrily as she slammed open the door to her dorm, "stay away from my Draco."

"Oh Pansy, no worries, you have that uptight prat all to yourself." Rayna replied lazily, not at all in the mood to deal with her petty arguing, "…and half the school."

"What did you say?" Pansy yelled as she grabbed her wand and pointed it directly at her.

Rayna leaned back against the headboard of her bed, twirling her wand aimlessly between her fingers as she watched Pansy throw a huge fit before her. Rayna smirked up at her, only prompting Pansy to grow even angrier by the minute, upset that she failed to intimidate her. Though she wouldn't usually bother even acknowledging their comments, Rayna felt a strange surge of confidence wash over her, encouraging her to stick up for herself for once.

"_When she tries to hex you," _She heard a voice hissing into her mind, _"curse her back before she has time to speak the spell."_

Rayna winced slightly, not having been expecting to hear her father's voice. The confidence she had before was now wavering; she never dueled anyone before, and surely didn't want to start now. As Pansy glared back at her Rayna realized the truth in her father's words, Pansy was ready to hex her any moment and she needed to be prepared. She went over all of the spells and enchantments she had learned in charms class, but she couldn't think of any that would actually get her anywhere in a duel; she was drawing a blank in her state of anxiety. She pondered some of the things she's read, but she had a hard enough time retaining the information while reading it, much less remembering it now. She began to inwardly panic, though she was careful not to show it on the outside, lest it egg Pansy on.

"I promise you Riddle," Pansy spat rudely, inching toward Rayna's bed as she scrunched up her face in contempt, "if you so much as lay a finger on my Draco, I will kill you."

"Interesting you should say that," Rayna replied calmly, the words seeming to flow freely without thought, "As I recall, he's slept with half of Slytherin house, and they're all still here."

"That's a lie!" Pansy screamed back at her, loud enough to be heard all throughout the dungeons.

"Is it?" Rayna replied, unable to control herself as she continued nonchalantly, "You sound like you're trying to convince yourself of that more than you're trying to convince me."

Pansy glared, her features livid with absolute hate as she stared back at Rayna, who remained leaning nonchalantly against her bedpost. Rayna felt her heart race and her mind begin to grow faint, but she couldn't manage to show it on the outside. She was trapped under a mask of confidence as she smirked back at Pansy, only egging her on further until she was at her breaking point.

"Get out Parkinson," Rayna said calmly, motioning toward the door with her wand, "go find Draco before he gets himself trapped between Daphne's legs."

Rayna couldn't believe the words flowing from her lips; it was like she was caught within a dream and the reactions she wanted to exhibit just wouldn't come. She panicked as Pansy grabbed her wand, though she was expecting some outward force to fight back as it had with her words. Pansy raised her wand, positioning it firmly out in front of her before she began to give it a flick. Rayna panicked, nothing was happening; it was as though she had regained complete control of her body and actions. She gasped as Pansy began to speak the curse, unsure of what to do as she prepared for the worst.

"Densauge-" Pansy began to say, her face contorting into a wicked grimace.

"Stupify!" Rayna shouted, flicking her wand out in front of her so fast that it knocked Pansy all the way across the room and into the cold stone wall beside the window.

Rayna gasped, shocked that she managed to produce such a powerful charm by herself. Though she hadn't been able to control her words, she managed to pull through at the last minute when the voice of her father had abandoned her. At the door, several other Slytherin students were piled beside one another, eager to see the fight that was occurring between Pansy and Rayna. It wasn't long before the voice of a prefect, eager to exert a show of authority and prove his worth, was rushing up the stairs and pushing through the crowd of students leading to the room.

"What is going on here?" the prefect asked angrily as he burst into the room.

"Riddle attacked me!" Pansy shrieked as she picked herself up off of the floor, rubbing where a minute amount of blood was drizzling down her forehead.

If it were any other person, the prefect would have bothered to hear both sides, but as usual Rayna was escorted out of the dorm and down the castle corridors to see her head of house without a word. The prefect instructed her to wait a moment while he went down the corridors to find professor Snape, their head of house.

"Detention Riddle," Snape drawled drearily as he walked beside the prefect along the corridors, though shock was clearly etched in his eyes as he stared back at her, "Every night this week after dinner."

Rayna nodded, pleased he didn't take any points from Slytherin house; though she assumed it was because he favored Slytherin too much to do so. Despite being pleased that she would be spending her detentions with the potions master making potions rather than performing other pointless tasks assigned by the other professors, she was still incredibly unhappy that a few hours of her day would have to be shaved off. Aside from her natural talent and inclination when it came to magic in general, learning the theoretical aspects of magic they taught in school came about as easily to her as sight came to a blind man; in addition to her newly accumulated detentions, she would have to spend the majority of her day stressing over essays and schoolwork.

Rayna sulked as she walked back to her dorm beside the prefect, shutting the door behind her a little too loudly when taking into consideration that three other girls were sleeping in the room. She changed out of her robes, sighing angrily as she flopped down onto her bed and buried herself beneath the covers. After a few uncomfortable shifts as she made an effort to adjust herself in the bed a strange, eerie feeling came over her; one that made her feel so uneasy and unnerved that she felt as though she would faint.

"_It felt good," _the familiar voice of her father hissed as her eyes shot open in shock, _"didn't it Rayna?"_

She sat up in bed, unable to shake the uncomfortable feeling that overcame her. She thought about it for a moment, considering everything that had happened that evening. Though she would never admit it to her friends, to Dumbledore, or to anyone she's ever known, she could admit it to herself and to the man inside her head acting as her father.

"_Yes father," _Rayna thought calmly, drifting off into a light sleep, _"I enjoyed it."_

**A/N: Don't forget to review and tell me what you think so far! Constructive criticism? Send it my way. (:**

**However, comments about how Voldemort could never have a daughter and all, don't bother. I know, that is why this is Fanfiction. **


	2. Ministry Approved

Chapter Two: Ministry Approved

Rayna walked down the lengthy corridors of the castle, eager to continue her first day of class at Hogwarts. Though most students were still at lunch, she managed to arrive and eat early enough to avoid them all. Realizing that she still had a full half hour before her next class officially began, Rayna decided to sit down along a wide bench at the base of one of the hallway's windowsills. Recoiling back in her seat, she allowed herself to drift off, still extremely tired from both having to adjust to her new schedule and having been up way longer than she anticipated last night.

As she lay aimlessly staring out at the just rising horizon, she let her thoughts wander to everything that had happened yesterday. It all seemed so distant now, as though it hadn't even really occurred. Going over it all in her head made her feel uneasy; after years of never actually being involved with what caused the wizarding world to hate her, it now felt like that part of her actually existed. As she thought back to her father's chilling voice and disturbingly sub-human appearance, she felt herself grow faint; the rims of her eyes began to water ever so slightly as her situation felt more real than ever.

"Rayna?" she heard a voice ask curiously from the other end of the corridor, accompanied by loud footsteps that resonated throughout the hall.

For a moment Rayna believed the voice she heard now to be the same one she heard last night, though it only took her another moment to dismiss the thought from her head. Fighting the emotion flooding through her, she opened her eyes and looked across the hall to see Harry walking toward her, worry etched in his features. Rayna forced a smile as she looked back at her friend, who proceeded to sit beside her as he took notice of her uncomfortable expression and slightly watering eyes.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah," Rayna replied calmly, sighing a moment later as she added, "I didn't ask for any of this."

"Does it have anything to do with what happened yesterday?" Harry asked curiously.

"You know about that?" Rayna asked, her tone laced in both shock and disappointment.

"You practically ran out of the great hall last night at dinner," Harry answered, though there was obvious suspicion in the look he gave her, "Hermione and I went after you, but you had already gone."

"Oh, right," Rayna replied, trying to hide the relief from her voice when she realized he wasn't talking about what happened with Pansy, "Malfoy made some rude comments."

"Don't listen to him," Harry reassured her, "the git only wants the attention."

"True," Rayna said after letting out a brief laugh, one that caused Harry to flinch slightly as he remembered the high, cold laughter of Tom Riddle; noticing this, she added in a more serious tone, "but sometimes it's hard to believe that; I'm constantly reminded of how much I resemble my father."

"I'm sorry Rayna..." Harry said quietly, reaching out to grab her arm, "I can't always help it."

"I understand," Rayna replied softly, attempting to reassure him with a friendly smile, though it reverted slightly.

Harry took on a look of understanding and sympathy as he stared back at her; though most of the world could not understand her situation, at least her friends could. Harry pulled her into a friendly hug, his arm crushing the bit of parchment in the pocket of her robe; her eyes widened as she remembered the note Malfoy had given her the previous evening, the one she had completely forgotten about in the events that followed. Filled with sudden curiosity and apprehension, Rayna found herself eager for Harry to leave so that she could have a look at it. Though she felt comforted by his embrace, she felt more alone than ever, upset that she had no one to confide in and express the truth about what had happened to her just last night. Though she felt comfortable revealing most things to her three friends, she learned early on that trust didn't extend to the subject of her father.

"Don't let them get to you," Harry said suddenly, releasing her as they stood up to head to class, "you're nothing like him, we know that."

Rayna nodded, returning his smile before saying their goodbyes. Harry walked down the hall toward his class which, unfortunately, was with the Hufflepuffs, meaning she would have the next period to spend with Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Though seeing the Ravenclaw students wasn't so bad, she hated spending any time with her own housemates.

The second Harry had walked out of sight Rayna reached into her robes and pulled out the now crumbled, torn, and messy looking bit of formerly elegant looking parchment. Unfolding it carefully, she was quick to break the lavish looking emerald green seal stamped right over the triangular fold. She wasn't sure what to expect or how she would react, but she felt her stomach knot as she undid the folds and tore open the letter; enough strange things had been happening lately, but receiving a letter from Malfoy was by far the most peculiar.

_Rayna,_

_It has been brought to my attention that you have been staying with the Weasley's over the past year and a half; though the Order condones this, your father does not. In due time I will be sure that you end up in my care. Do not attempt to fight it, if you do it will not end in your favor._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_L._

Rayna sat back down on the bench behind her, staring down at the parchment as though it were a hot coal. She had no idea what to think or how to take it, but she knew one thing was for sure, things were going to change, and not in her favor. She debated whether or not she should tell someone, but something inside her told her it was best to just ignore it for now. It could just be a cruel joke, Draco's attempt at trying to scare her, though she couldn't entirely convince herself it was even a possibility.

Rayna heard the bell toll loudly throughout the castle, prompting her to jump up from her seat and dash across the corridors, running to her class at the last minute. When she crashed through the door and into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, she was greeted by not only the unpleasant, disdainful glares of her classmates, but the superficial smile of a plump lady wearing a lot of pink.

"You're late Miss…" The woman asked her politely, her tone high and ingenuine.

"Riddle, Rayna Riddle" Rayna replied casually, not at all surprised when she was given a brief look of shock, quickly masked by the same forced expression.

"Well Miss Riddle," She continued, "if you will take a seat. Please stay for a moment after class."

Rayna nodded politely before letting out a brief sigh and walking down the aisle to the only available seat in the room, a spot near the back next to Luna Lovegood, the distracted and wistful Ravenclaw she met on the carriages just the previous night.

"Hey Luna," Rayna said politely as she sat down beside her, dropping some parchment and a quill on the desk.

"Oh, hello Rayna," Luna replied breathlessly, her tone so light and airy that she didn't sound entirely there.

Rayna sighed and leaned back in her seat, still finding it hard to forget Lucius Malfoy's note. She wasn't sure whether or not she should mention it to her friends, knowing they already had a lot on their plates; with OWLs coming up, Harry's public disgrace and the return of Lord Voldemort, could they really be bothered with something as little as a note and some night mares? Rayna shrugged the ordeal off, though it still lingered in the back of her mind.

"Good morning children," Professor Umbridge said, putting a stop to the mindless chatter flowing throughout the classroom, "shall we begin?"

The talking stopped and all of the students throughout the classroom turned to look at her, most with immense displeasure and contempt. Though the woman's falsely polite and innocent façade would be enough to get her through the ministry, it was all too obvious that her true intentions would be much less honorable. With a flick of her wand, she began to write, _"Ordinary Wizarding Levels,"_ on the small chalkboard near the front of the classroom.

"Study hard, and you will be rewarded," Umbridge said calmly, turning to address the class, "fail to do so, and the consequences may be, severe."

With a small shrug of her shoulders and a loud squeak, Umbridge flicked her wand over to the lumps of books piled neatly on a table near the front. As the piles floated their way down the aisles, one landed on top of each student's desk. When Rayna's book hit the table in front of her with a soft thud, she immediately took notice of the title, which already had her hopes set extremely low.

_Dark Arts Defense: Basics for Beginners_

Rayna scoffed, earning her a look from Umbridge who, though she ultimately ignored it, made it clear she had heard the rude gesture. Though she didn't want to admit it, something about Professor Umbridge intimidated her. Rayna began to skim through the book, which she noted contained nothing but theory and didn't mention a thing about defensive spells, enchantments, or anything that could even remotely prepare them to face the topic in real life. That and she absolutely hated learning about theory, which she was nothing short of awful at, accounting for her poor marks in History of Magic and every other class she's taken where magic wasn't used.

"Excuse me," Rayna said politely, raising her hand.

"Yes dear?" Umbridge replied, turning to face her.

"I don't see anything in here other than theory," Rayna continued calmly, though Umbridge's façade never wavered, "will we not be applying any of it?"

"Applying it?" Umbridge said, uttering a brief, high pitched laugh before adding, "I can't imagine why you would need to apply it? You will be following a carefully structured ministry approved course of defensive magic in a secure, risk-free environment."

"But Professor," Rayna continued, though she felt herself feeling a bit faint as she continued to push her luck, "what good is a theoretical knowledge if it isn't applied?"

"It is the view of the ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which, after all, is what school is all about." Umbridge continued, the polite smile still plastered on her face making her appear the part of a statue.

Though Rayna had several other things she wanted desperately to say, she could see Umbridge getting annoyed with her, and unlike her friends, she was no Gryffindor; she decided to just drop it and face the prospect of receiving less than desirable marks in what was usually one of her best subjects. Umbridge waited another moment as though she were anticipating for Rayna to continue, but when she didn't Umbridge walked over to her desk at the front of the room and sat down, instructing them to copy the first few pages of their book for "maximum retention." Rayna looked down at it, mumbling something about how she was almost definitely going to fail before doing as she was told.

"Luna?" Rayna asked suddenly, looking over to see that she hadn't even begun to copy down the text. Luna looked over at her curiously, though her expression made Rayna feel that she wasn't entirely there, lost in some sort of daydream.

"Is there a reason you haven't started?" Rayna continued, staring at Luna with a look of both confusion and disdain.

"I seemed to have misplaced my quill," Luna said dazedly before leaning forward and adding, "I suspect Nargals."

"Right," Rayna said, elongating the word subconsciously before taking another quill from her bag and handing it to her, "you can borrow one of mine then."

"Thank you," Luna said absentmindedly as she took the quill and began to hum as she opened her book and began to scribe across the page at an annoyingly slow rate.

Rayna nodded, though she couldn't entirely wipe the look of scorn from her face as she inwardly judged the unusual witch. As much as Rayna didn't want to hate her, she couldn't help that she was so easily annoyed by her bizarre and outlandish demeanor.

…

"Professor?" Rayna said as she walked up to her desk while the rest of the class filed out of the room hastily.

"Oh, Miss Riddle," Umbridge said calmly, her smile broadening ever so slightly as she pushed her plump, stout form out from her chair, "come with me."

Rayna followed her through a door by the front of the room that lead into a small office adorned in massive amounts of baby pink and several dozen plates containing pictures of a variety of cats on its walls, all meowing frantically at the realization of their arrival. Rayna scoffed, though she quickly disguised it as a cough when Umbridge looked in her direction, her smile contorting to a sneer for a mere fraction of a second; though many would have thought they imagined it, Rayna was quick to pick up on her minor slip-up.

"Lateness is something I will not tolerate Miss Riddle," Umbridge began, walking over to a small desk in the corner of the room before motioning for Rayna to sit down.

Rayna did as she was told, walking over to the desk before sitting down hastily. Before her there was a blank piece of clean parchment and a quill, but no ink.

"I want you to write, I must not be late," Umbridge continued, staring down at her with a wicked smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Rayna reached down to grab her bag before fumbling around at the bottom to find her bottle of ink before she was stopped by Umbridge.

"You won't be needing any ink," She said simply, though Rayna sensed there was more to it than she let on.

Rayna let her bag slump back to the floor before staring up at the woman like she was crazy. None the less, she grabbed the quill on top of the bit of parchment and began to write, "I must not be late." Though she wasn't expecting anything to show up, she was surprised to see the words stain the parchment in bright red ink. About mid-sentence Rayna winced in pain, looking down at her hand to see the words carve themselves into her flesh. She stopped writing, receiving a look from Umbridge that was entirely clear; she had to continue the sentence.

"What are you doing?" Rayna asked softly, wishing that she had the same courage as when she faced Pansy just the other night.

"Continue Riddle," Umbridge said politely, a look of ingenuine pity coating her features, "you know, deep down, you deserve this."

Rayna glared at her, though she couldn't find enough bravery to disobey her; she looked down at the parchment and finished the last few words of the sentence, wincing as they continued to carve themselves into the top of her hand. When she was finished Umbridge dismissed her, prompting her to flee the room knowing she would be late to her next class.

…

"Sorry Professor I-" Rayna began as she walked hastily into the classroom.

"Sit down Miss Riddle," Professor Snape drawled, causing Rayna to stop in her tracks, "you've wasted time being late, and now you're wasting even more time making up excuses."

Rayna didn't press the issue any further, deciding that no matter what excuse she had, the results would be the same from Snape. Instead, she made her way to the back of the room, glaring at Malfoy as she walked past his snickering form, and sat down at a table beside Ron, Harry and Hermione. They exchanged sympathetic looks, though they didn't dare speak out loud.

"As I was saying," Snape continued, his voice as cold and monotone as ever, "Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."

On Harry's left, Rayna noticed Hermione sit up a little straighter, adopting a look of the utmost attentiveness as she listened carefully to every word emitting itself from Snape's mouth. Though potions was always Rayna's best subject, she didn't have the attention span that Hermione did, and stopped paying attention to the remainder of what Snape droned on about. With that, Snape let them begin their potions, and Rayna walked up to the front of the room and grabbed everything she needed from the list of ingredients on the blackboard.

As they all soon found out, Snape couldn't have possibly given them a more difficult potion to brew. Every instruction was set in stone; even the most minor misreading could set you back, or worse –invalidate the potion all together. Rayna however, enjoyed the challenge and was careful to read the directions several times before doing anything drastic; though she was generally a bit too experimental when it came to what she brewed, with this potion she followed everything with absolute precision.

"What happened to your hand?" Ron asked suddenly, pausing for a moment to look over at Rayna.

"You need to keep stirring!" Rayna exclaimed, narrowly saving him from causing the potion to erupt, "And my hand, well that was Umbridge's idea of a punishment."

"You can't be serious," Ron continued, causing Harry and Hermione to linger from their potions for a moment to look over at the gray, angry looking tissue of Rayna's cursed hand.

"Well I am," Rayna replied before turning to look at Harry, "and from what I understand, I wasn't the first."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked curiously, though Harry just ignored it.

"I heard some Hufflepuffs chatting about Harry's little argument with the old hag," Rayna replied calmly, "I assume we were given the same punishment, she seemed to enjoy it enough."

"Harry," Hermione asked calmly, looking down at his hands, "is that true?"

"Nothing's wrong with my hand," Harry replied, burying it subconsciously beneath his potions book.

Hermione reached out to take his hand, setting the book carefully back down on the table. She pulled his sleeve up gently to reveal the same greyish, purple tissue plaguing Rayna's flesh; Ron adopted a look of compassion, though Harry quickly tugged back his arm, concealing the scar from his three friends. Behind him, Rayna watched as his potion drifted from the desirable light silver vapor that should have been rising from his potion to a copious amount of dark grey steam next to Ron's, which began to emit green sparks.

"You've got to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said worriedly, turning as she too saw their failed attempts at brewing the potion.

"No," Harry said irritably, returning to his potion and looking from it to his book frantically as he tried to figure out what he had done wrong, "Dumbledore's got enough on his mind right now; anyways I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction."

"Bloody hell Harry," Ron added, "that woman's torturing you, what if the parents knew about this?"

"Well I don't have any of those have I Ron?" Harry snapped back, panicking as Snape began to make his way over to their table.

"Harry you've got to report this," Hermione added, "it's perfectly simple"

"No," Harry said angrily, cutting her off, "It's not. Hermione whatever this is, it's not simple."

"To Umbridge this is all just a power struggle," Rayna added softly, "if we go to Dumbledore now, it's likely that she won't stop until she's eliminated the problem."

"You don't really think she would take Dumbledore's job do you?" Ron replied somewhat rudely, "The old hag couldn't if she tried."

"You underestimate her," Rayna shot back, "haven't you read the daily prophet lately? The ministry's interference at Hogwarts isn't a coincidence -they are out to get Dumbledore."

"You're paranoid," Ron replied, "Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of our time, how could they force him out of his job?"

"They have before," Rayna replied coldly, "Or have you forgotten our second year? Dumbledore gladly stepped down to leave us at the mercy of Lord Voldemort."

"He knew Harry would defeat him," Ron shot back, "we all know you've never trusted him, why is that?"

"He leaves a second year with a songbird and an old hat, up against the most powerful wizard in the world," Rayna shot back, raising her voice slightly, "he's no better than Voldemort himself, leaving Harry to do what he could have done easily. He's manipulating you all, risking your lives so that he can save himself."

"Stop it both of you!" Hermione interjected angrily, placing her hand on Ron's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, "We'll never solve this by fighting with each other.

"Hermione's right," Ron said reluctantly, though he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with Rayna, "If something really is happening, we need to stick together."

Rayna looked up to see Professor Snape walking over to their table; he stopped to look down at Harry's cauldron with a horrible smirk on his face. Harry still hadn't been able to fix his potion; it looked as unlike the desired outcome as physically possible.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" Snape asked harshly, causing the Slytherins in the front of the room to look back, eager to see Snape taunt Harry.

"The Draught of Peace," Harry replied tersely.

"Tell me Potter," Snape said softly, "can you read?"

Rayna heard Draco Malfoy laugh, though Harry just clenched his fingers tightly around his wand beneath his desk, "Yes, I can."

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter." Snape drawled.

She watched as Harry looked at the blackboard, although it was nearly impossible to see the instructions through the haze of multicolored steam filling the dungeon. Though he had clearly missed an important step, his potion was no worse than Ron's, Neville's, Seamus's, or any of the other guys from Gryffindor. Rayna tried to drone Snape out as she completed the last step of the potion; it had been a success, though she almost always succeeded in her potions class.

At the end of class Rayna grabbed her things and walked to the front of the room, carefully placing her flagon of potion on Snape's desk along with the multitude of other vials. She walked out of the room in haste, trying her hardest to avoid her friends after their encounter, though she knew it would be of no use, she would have to confront them eventually. It was a known fact that Rayna had ill opinions of Dumbledore, though she was always civil to the old wizard. Unfortunately, like she never trusted Dumbledore, Ron never trusted her, constantly arguing with her as though she were her father herself.

"Rayna," Hermione yelled as she tried to catch up with her, "wait!"

Rayna turned around, giving into her friend's request once she was sure Ron and Harry were nowhere in sight. Given Harry's current mood after the encounter with Snape, she couldn't bring herself to face him just yet, knowing full well that he didn't agree with her about Dumbledore; and Ron, she especially didn't want to see him.

"About what Ron said," Hermione began breathlessly, "he's only mad because his potion turned out terribly and he became defensive."

"Save it Hermione," Rayna replied, her voice betraying her as it leaked hurt, "It had nothing to do with his failure. I will never be accepted here, not with the light and not with you three."

"Don't say that," Hermione pleaded, "you have always been our friend-"

"No," Rayna shot back, "I have been like a prisoner, blamed, interrogated and guarded at the first sign of danger. You say Dumbledore always sees the good in everyone, but why doesn't he see it in me?"

"He does," Hermione consoled, taking a moment to stop and comfort her friend, "it's hard to see it, but you need to stop focusing on the negative. People don't understand."

"And neither do you." Rayna snapped, turning to walk off, "I didn't understand it myself."

"What was that?" Hermione asked as she tried to stop her from leaving, "Rayna wait!"

…

As the day came to a close Rayna walked briskly down to the dungeons, where she would be serving her first detention with professor Snape. She spent the day avoiding her friends, though it had been nearly impossible since they had a few classes together and she had to find other amiable people to sit by. The other Slytherin students cluttering the dungeon's halls glared at her as she walked by, though she didn't mind; she was used to it. When she finally made it to the potions classroom and knocked on the door there was no answer; though the door was unlocked and pushed slightly ajar, she thought it would be rude to just barge in unannounced.

"Professor?" Rayna asked softly, pushing her way through the door ever so slowly.

"Hurry up Riddle," Snape said harshly as he handed her an old leather book, "You'll be brewing veritaserum. The instructions are on page three-hundred and seventy-eight."

"Why Sir?" Rayna asked curiously, "It's not allowed to be used on students?"

Snape didn't reply, instead he gave her a cold, calculating look before turning and walking to his desk; he sat down and began to look over bits of parchment without another word. Rayna opened the book, taking a moment to find the page before reading the procedure over a few times. She had never brewed a more complicated potion; every meticulous step took a significant amount of time and to fully brew it the potion would take an entire month, or one lunar phase. She walked over to a cabinet and grabbed a handful of ingredients from the list, setting them down carefully before going over to grab a cauldron, occasionally Snape would look up to check on her, though he didn't feel the need to constantly hound her about the potion as he did to most students in his classes.

"Professor," Rayna said suddenly, walking over to his desk as she put the last ingredient into the cauldron, "The next step requires the potion to sit for several hours."

"Finished already?" Snape drawled, raising his brow as he gave her a calculating stare, "Is it adequate?"

"I believe so sir." Rayna replied calmly, "I have achieved the gray vapor that the book specifies should be rising from the potion."

"Very well then," Snape said after a moment of consideration, "you are dismissed."

Rayna nodded curtly, taking a moment to gather all of the ingredients and supplies she had out before putting them back in their rightful places. With haste she walked out of the room, her robes billowing behind her as she passed the Slytherin common room and proceeded to roam the castle aimlessly. Though she was well aware that curfew was quickly approaching, she had no desire to spend any time hanging around with members of her house. She walked down long, dark corridors and through a multitude of rooms without purpose, eventually bringing herself across the castle to the trophy room, where she was drawn to one award in particular.

It wasn't anything special, though she had visited it frequently ever since she found it during her first year at Hogwarts. The handsome looking plaque was adorned in shiny silver lettering and polished wood; an award for special services to the school, an award presented to her father: _Tom Riddle_. Rayna reached out and touched it gently, cleaning a bit of dust that had accumulated on its edge with the tip of her finger. She was interrupted however, by the sound of soft footsteps behind her, halting behind her a considerable distance.

"It's unfair," Rayna said suddenly, catching Dumbledore off guard as he stood behind her before asking, "He didn't want me to be a Riddle, did he?"

"No," Dumbledore replied calmly as he walked closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Your father wanted to escape anything connected to his heritage."

"Why didn't you let him?" Rayna said carefully, trying to suppress the rising accusation in her tone, "It isn't a crime to want to be your own person, to want to escape judgment and ties."

"You want to do the same," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully, pausing for a moment as she nodded before adding, "but I'm afraid it would be of no use now, the wizarding world knows you as Rayna Riddle."

"I know Headmaster," Rayna replied softly, turning toward him with a cold and calculating look that Dumbledore noted could rival her fathers, "but it wasn't always that way."

Dumbledore considered her for a moment, an uneasy silence creating thick tension throughout the room as Rayna thought about the matter. She had to choose her words carefully while dealing with the Headmaster if she was going to prove she wasn't her father's child; her comfort level with him was always strained, not the easy, friendly conduct Dumbledore had with the golden trio. Sometimes she envied this, the easy lives they lived without the lack of acceptance she faced from her classmates; they may not have the ideal blood status, but in the post-Voldemort world they lived in, that didn't matter. Sure, the prospect of him returning made it an issue, but what did that matter now?

"Its past curfew already, and I fear that if Professor Snape catches you out of bed at this hour, you'll have more detention to worry about," Dumbledore said in a lighter tone, breaking the silence.

"Of course sir," Rayna said politely, nodding as she realized she was dismissed, "Forgive me, I had no idea how late it was."

"Off you go then," Dumbledore added as she turned and made her way to the dungeons.

**A/N: Thanks Fight-Before-Flight, ashrachellexx, Amanda2308, and Lorna for reviewing chapter one! You're all greatly appreciated! **

**Don't forget to tell me what you think about this chapter and review! Feed the muses and give me inspiration. Our poor Rayna is having a bit of a falling out with her friends at the moment, should she turn to her father? Please review. (:**


	3. Dumbledore's Army

**A/N: I just wanted to thank Lala, ashrachellexx, Amanda2308, Callisto, and DamonSalvatoreLover for reviewing chapter two, and I do hope you enjoy this next chapter. **

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Three: Dumbledore's Army<span>

"Honestly Hermione," Rayna said harshly as they trudged through the snow, "bringing me along is only going to make it harder for you to convince them."

"She's right," Harry added as they made their way to Hogshead, "This is mad, who would want to be taught by me, I'm a nutter remember?"

"Look on the bright side," Ron continued, "you can't be any worse than old toad face."

"Thanks Ron," Harry replied sarcastically, "I feel loads better."

"We've got to be able to defend ourselves," Hermione said, "Harry; you're the only person who can teach us, they know that."

"They don't exactly believe they need to defend themselves." Rayna said tersely.

"That's why we brought you along," Ron replied, "They all think you're going to murder them."

Hermione gave Ron a hard punch in the shoulder, which he didn't appreciate. Rayna just glared at him, though she knew there was truth in his statement. Despite gradually improving their friendship after their falling out, Rayna was still very distant from her friends, knowing they weren't on the best of terms.

"Lovely spot!" Ron said sarcastically as they finally walked through the doors of Hogshead inn and pub.

"Thought it would be safer off the beaten track." Hermione replied reluctantly.

Filled with rough wooden tables adorned in nothing other than the stubs of candles sitting on their surfaces, Hogshead was the last place that Rayna would have assumed they were going. With a concrete floor so dirty that it appeared they were walking on open ground, it was no wonder it was notorious for being a disreputable establishment occupied by the shady and low-class. As they walked over to the open bar area, occupied by several students she recognized, they all gave Rayna disdainful looks and rude glares; she was the only Slytherin in attendance. She sat down at the front of the room beside her friends; for a moment nothing was said as both sides took in the situation.

"Uhm, hi, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher. A proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts." Hermione finally said, standing up to address the apprehensive crowd.

"Why?" someone asked rudely, though Rayna didn't recognize him.

"Why? Because you-know-who's back you tosspot." Ron replied rudely.

"So he says," the boy continued, motioning toward Harry.

"Because Dumbledore says," Hermione added calmly.

"So Dumbledore says because he says," He continued, though Harry just looked down at the ground, "the point is where's the proof?"

For a moment an uncomfortable silence filled the room; behind them, a strange looking witch glanced over to look at the group of Hogwarts students. Rayna stood up, though she was immediately greeted by disdainful stares, and a few people even pulled out their wands. Though she knew this would happen, it didn't make her any less angry when it did.

"Besides, if it's true," some girl from Ravenclaw began rudely, looking over at Rayna, "what makes you think it's safe to include her. We might as well be training with a death eater."

"See Hermione," Rayna said coldly, "these people are too stupid to realize their lives are at risk. They only came here to argue and accuse Harry and me."

"I'm not stupid!" the Ravenclaw replied angrily, "Don't you dare talk about me like that!"

"You might be able to do something about it," Rayna said smoothly, "if you actually bothered to learn something beyond simple jinxes."

"I could beat you in a duel any day," she replied offensively, "without any help from Harry."

"Prove it," Rayna said coldly, prompting the girl to whip out her wand.

She walked a few steps forward, though Rayna could tell she was a bit nervous and reluctant to do so. For a moment she wondered why the brash girl wasn't put in Gryffindor, though her trembling fingers and nervous disposition automatically told her that it was because this sort of bravery wasn't natural to her. She began to mutter a hex, but Rayna was quick to pull out her wand, causing her to stop before she could even finish the spell.

"Rayna stop it!" Hermione said desperately, grabbing her arm in what was meant to instill comfort as Rayna lowered her wand to her side.

"I won't join if Riddle does," someone finally said, a usually timid Hufflepuff girl.

Rayna tightened her grip on her wand as the room interrupted into a chorus of "me too," and "I'm out of here." Though Hermione shot her a look of sympathy and her three friends didn't make any attempt to ask her to leave, Rayna turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving them all behind her. Hermione sighed, but even she knew it was the only way they would have any sort of cooperation. For once, her classmates were correct in assuming she wanted every one of them dead. For once, Rayna longed to stand alongside her father.

After trudging through the snow and walking a considerable distance across the small village, Rayna went into the Three Broomsticks, sitting down at a table along the outskirts of the room to avoid the small groups of students at Hogwarts that sat clustered amiably at several tables. Only when she sat down in her seat did she finally loosen her grip on her wand, tucking it back down into her robe as she remembered she was in a public establishment. She sat back in her seat lazily, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to calm herself down. When she finally opened her eyes she saw Draco strutting over to her table, his face twisted into a smug grin as he stared back at her.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Rayna spat as he took a seat beside her.

"God Riddle," Draco drawled as he attempted to cover his nose, ignoring her question completely, "Why do you hang out with Granger, I can smell mudblood on you from a mile away?"

"Is that why you came over here, to insult me?" Rayna shot back coldly, "Pansy already learned her lesson, perhaps you should learn yours."

"I wasn't insulting you," Draco said smugly, "only the filth you choose to associate with."

"I thought that made me a blood traitor," Rayna replied coldly, sitting up straighter in her seat.

"You've never liked them," Draco said simply.

Rayna pushed herself out of her seat and stood up to leave, but Draco was quick to grab her wrist and pull her back down. She was about to yell back at him and pull herself out of his grip, but as she looked around to see they were beginning to make a scene, she just sat back down impassively, trying to make their exchange less conspicuous. Though most of them went back to whatever it was they were doing, Rayna saw that many of the groups began to talk avidly about the pair; it wasn't every day that Rayna actually had a civil conversation with another Slytherin, much less Draco Malfoy.

"Look Riddle," Draco continued irritably, "you have no idea who you are or what you're entitled to. My father said that…"

"I don't care what your father says," Rayna interrupted, "I'm not _he-who-must-not-be-named_'s heir. I've never had anything to do with him and I never will. Leave me alone Malfoy."

"You don't have a choice," Draco said angrily as Rayna stood up to leave, though this time he made no attempt to try and stop her.

Rayna walked out of the Three Broomsticks, ignoring the piercing stares of her peers and a few professors as she strode confidently out the door. Though she was clearly flustered and confused, she made every effort to conceal those feelings from the public eye, walking briskly through the snow and along the winding paths of Hogsmead.

* * *

><p>Rayna sat down on one of the long benches beneath the vast windowsills compromising the castle's corridors. She inched her way up closer to the glass, pulling her legs toward herself as she looked out at the horizon. She watched as the carriages hauling students back from Hogsmead grew closer and closer to the castle, several loaded with members of the newly formed Dumbledore's Army. Though they were all just arriving, Rayna had chosen to walk back to the castle early after her not so pleasant encounter, still sulking in the way her peers portrayed her.<p>

Not even a minute passed by before she was thrown from reality, her mind growing cloudy and confused as she drifted off into a dream-like state of euphoria. Soon she could feel nothing of the world around her, forgetting all about the life she lived as she let her mind waver and her thoughts go blank. She woke up in a dream so real that it was nearly impossible to distinguish it from reality; if it hadn't been for the familiar setting and circumstances, she probably wouldn't have thought it a dream. The sense of deja-vu didn't come as any less of a shock; she had only dreamt the dream one other time and had grown to dismiss it as an act of her imagination, but now that it was recurring, she thought twice about it, realizing that it was far from normal.

"Hello?" Rayna asked softly, her voice echoing throughout the vast room that made up the hall of prophesy.

She paused for a moment, but still no one answered, her voice carrying down the long aisles as she walked forward, over to the same spot she was drawn to last time –the aisle containing the only illuminated prophesy in the room. Again, the small orb's tag read, "Rayna Riddle," though she picked it up once more to find that no prophesy was revealed to her. She set the cloudy sphere back down, its light fading slowly as the room grew darker and darker; soon nothing was visible at all.

Rayna was quick to illuminate the tip of her wand with a simple charm, though when the setting loomed once again into view, she saw the figure of a pale, snake-like man with waxy features and cold, piercing red eyes –she saw her father. This time she didn't scream or jump in apprehension and fear, instead her lips curled into a smirk that she couldn't suppress.

"Hello father," Rayna said calmly, letting out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding in.

"_You see it now, don't you?" _Voldemort hissed, his icy voice trailing dangerously throughout her mind.

"I always have." Rayna replied simply before adding, "Just because I don't need them, that doesn't mean I need you."

"_You want that though," _Voldemort continued,_ "You enjoyed hurting Parkinson. Do you think you would have actually defended yourself if I hadn't pushed you to it?"_

"I know I wouldn't have," Rayna replied softly, "but it wouldn't have ever occurred in the first place if I wasn't stuck with your name."

"_You already know that was Dumbledore's doing," _Voldemort said firmly,_ "I intended to give you your mother's surname. Once the wizarding world knows of my return, you will be praised for it rather than shunned, but not if you continue to associate with those who hate you for it."_

"You mean my friends?" Rayna asked, "The Slytherin's hate me for it more than anyone else."

"_Because you're a blood traitor," _Voldemort spat back, his voice laced with hatred, _"They hate you because you hide behind a façade of innocence and good intentions. Your "friends" wouldn't want you if they really knew you."_

Rayna glared, though she remained completely silent; despite knowing how much truth was in his statement, she wouldn't dare show that she recognized it. As Rayna stood idly she saw her father's thin lips curl into a twisted smile, one as cold and icy as his voice. Remembering that she was trapped within a dream, or rather her mind; she recognized that it was impossible to hide anything from him. It was as though the door to her thoughts had been breached and there was no way of concealing her innermost feelings and opinions. There was no pretending, no mask to hide behind; all she could do was chat with him with openness and honesty, whether she wanted to or not.

"_Very good Rayna," _Voldemort said coldly as though he had read her mind, though his tone had grown softer and less spiteful than before, _"You have more in common with me than just a name, you know that."_

"What do you want?" Rayna asked curiously, her tone showing interest more than anything else, "We both know it isn't to reunite and become one big happy family."

"_I dare say you would hate that almost as much as I would," _Voldemort replied before answering, _"I want you to join me –become a death eater."_

Rayna was at a loss for words, finding herself unable to reply as she drifted from her dream; her surroundings became a blur as her mind settled back into a state of consciousness. Slowly but surely she was able to make sense of her surroundings and comprehend the reality around her. She considered what Voldemort had said, but she couldn't help but feel that something was off; there was more to the reason than what he had told her –she was sure of it. She began to hear voices; familiar voices she had grown so accustomed to hearing that seemed to drone down into her head. They were frantic as they chanted her name desperately; she felt her body shake as hands gripped her sides, though she was only just beginning to open her eyes and see the blurred outlines of two other people in front of her. She looked up to see two Gryffindors staring down at her, worry etched into their faces as they finally stopped shaking her and calling out her name. She looked up to see Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"Rayna? Are you alright?" Hermione asked worriedly as she leant down to observe her.

"I'm fine," Rayna panted, pulling herself upright on the bench she had been laying on as she let her gaze scan the empty corridor.

"We need to get you to the hospital wing," Ginny exclaimed as she bent down to help her up from her set on the bench, though Rayna immediately resisted and remained where she sat.

"No," Rayna shot back, though her voice cracked ever so slightly as it betrayed her worry and apprehension, "I'm fine –really. I just had a bad dream."

"That didn't look like a dream Rayna," Hermione said curiously, "you have got to tell us what has been going on. This isn't the first time it's happened."

"Nothing is going on," Rayna shot back, desperate to elude her friends and their interrogations, "I've had a pretty bad day, don't you think? I'm flustered enough from being rejected by the very people you swore wouldn't shun me, did you ever think it might just be because of that?"

"I'm so sorry Rayna," Hermione said softly, her eyes glistening with sympathy and unease, "I wanted to tell them to stop, but you know how important it is to teach them to defend themselves… you-know-who is back, their lives could be at risk."

"What a pity that would be, seeing them die," Rayna mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Ginny asked curiously, perking up slightly.

"Nothing," Rayna retorted nonchalantly.

For a moment the three of them said nothing as an awkward silence engulfed the hallway, Rayna considered telling them about her dreams, but she knew it would end in nothing but turmoil and spite, so she decided against it. Ginny stared at her with unease; though she could never manage to keep her composure around Rayna, Rayna never understood why.

"You look just like him you know," Ginny said suddenly, earning her an uncomfortable warning glance from Hermione, before adding at the last minute, "Tom Riddle, that is."

"I wouldn't know." Rayna replied tersely.

"Rayna this is serious," Hermione continued, refraining from dropping the subject much to her avail, "if it's anything like what's happening to Harry then we have to tell Dumbledore."

"If you bring Dumbledore into this, I will not tell you a thing." Rayna shot back, aggravated at the constant interference from the headmaster.

"Alright fine," Hermione sighed, her eyes glistening with disappointment.

"You both promise you won't say a thing to him," Rayna continued, looking over at Ginny, who had to revert her eyes from Rayna's gaze.

"We promise," Hermione continued as Ginny nodded her head in agreement, "will you please just tell us."

After a brief pause Rayna finally decided to give into Hermione's pleas, "My father speaks to me in these dreams. I've only dreamt it twice, but both times it has been within the Department of Mysteries, in the Hall of Prophesy."

Hermione took on a look of absolute worry and realization as her face lit up with understanding. Seeing her made Rayna's stomach coil into a knot as she realized that her confidentiality would almost certainly be at risk. She immediately regret telling the two of them anything since they always strived to find some almighty solution to everything pertaining to Lord Voldemort and would not stop until Dumbledore and Harry knew, as well as anyone else who inquired about it. Rayna felt sick, as though her conversations with her father were no longer private and she had somehow betrayed him for letting it slip –sure, she owed him nothing, but she had to admit she enjoyed talking to him and she enjoyed the power he had given her against Pansy.

"What does he talk to you about?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well," Rayna began uneasily, trying to think of something far from the truth quickly, "I don't remember a lot of it, but it has just been things against the Order and against Harry."

"Like what?" Hermione continued, her eyes seeming to bore into Rayna's.

"Like how Harry was the reason I didn't have a father," Rayna said slyly, masking the truth with a lie that Hermione would easily accept.

Hermione looked at her with an expression of sympathy and understanding; though she hated lying to her friends, she knew how easy it was to manipulate Hermione's strong sense of emotion. It had been exactly the kind of thing Hermione was expecting, something Voldemort could easily use to manipulate her –yet something that could raise the emotional side that made Hermione so vulnerable. For a moment, Rayna felt triumphant with the realization of how well she had turned the tables away from the truth, she was a Slytherin after all.

"We still have to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said quietly before Rayna cut her off in protest.

"You promised me you wouldn't say a word." Rayna shot back angrily, "Dumbledore stays out of this."

"Rayna listen," Hermione consoled, "he can help you like-"

"Like he helped Harry?" Rayna shot back before she could finish, "Forgive me, but I'm not going to risk my life because Dumbledore feels like using this to his advantage."

"He knew Harry could do it," Ginny said defensively, "Harry is-"

"Is what, Ginny?" Rayna snapped, her features becoming livid with displeasure, "Is famous? Is a hero? Is the greatest thing since Godric Gryffindor himself? He is still just a student here; he isn't even of age yet."

Ginny's eyes widened as Rayna glared back at her; though Rayna didn't want to act like this toward her friends, she knew it was the only way to get across to them. She hated herself for resembling her father at that moment and knew exactly what it looked like to them –that she wasn't as detached from Lord Voldemort as she had always let on. Though this brought on a feeling of disgust and displeasure, she couldn't help but enjoy the power it brought her to use the connection she had to her father against them –it wouldn't have been nearly as frightening if she didn't resemble someone so feared throughout the world. It was one thing that she was like a carbon-copy of her father back in his day, with the same jet-black hair, piercing, cold blue eyes and alabaster skin, but it was another thing to resemble him in demeanor; the way he composed himself was as prevalent in her as anything was.

"Just think about it," Hermione said finally, "please try and trust Dumbledore, he wants to help you."

"Fine," Rayna said in defeat, "I'll think about it. But until then you won't say a word."

"Alright," Hermione answered with disappointment.

"Do you swear?" Rayna asked apprehensively.

"I swear." Hermione answered firmly.

"You too?" Rayna asked, turning toward Ginny, who was still uneasy about Rayna snapping at her.

"Yes." She answered awkwardly.

"Would you be prepared to make an unbreakable vow?" Rayna asked firmly, her voice laced with threat.

"Merlin Rayna," Hermione answered disapprovingly, "everyone is not out to get you. You can trust your best friends."

"No, you're right," Rayna said softly, bringing down the thick tension between the three of them, "I'm sorry. I just don't want Dumbledore to get involved just yet; I hope you can understand that."

Hermione smiled back at her before replying, "Of course I can, let's get down to the Great Hall before dinner is over."

Rayna smiled and they all walked down the vast corridors of the castle, eventually making their way to the castle's magnificent hall. Though most students were already there piling their plates with food from the mountains of options cluttering the table, they realized that they had arrived just after dinner had begun and weren't nearly as late as they had assumed.

* * *

><p>Rayna walked along the deserted corridors, taking only a few minutes to arrive at her destination: the Room of Requirement. Though she was initially shunned from Dumbledore's Army, Hermione assured her that it had been cleared up with her classmates and that she would be welcome to train with them. Sure, she was still as apprehensive and wary about it as ever, but she knew that it would be beneficial since she didn't have much formal training against the Dark Arts. As she walked up to her destination, a magnificent door began to form out of the wall, coiling itself out of the brick as though it were there all along. Rayna smirked, amazed at the display of magic happening before her.<p>

Though Hermione had instructed her to walk up to the door with her destination in mind –the DA meeting, that is, Rayna had her thoughts set on another topic –her father. The last dream she had seemed to leave a lasting effect, one that wouldn't leave her thoughts no matter how hard she tried. As she thought about the meeting she thought about how much she loathed her classmates, the ones she knew she could defeat but couldn't while still at Hogwarts. She hated them all, and it seemed like every encounter she had with her father only exemplified those feelings.

She walked up to the door, pushing it open before walking through and shutting it behind her with a loud thud. Inside it was so dark that she couldn't see a thing, so she illuminated the tip of her wand, confused as to why she couldn't hear or see anyone familiar even though she had arrived several minutes late. When she finally looked around her, she could see no open room filed with members of Dumbledore's Army, but instead piles and piles of various objects, furniture and items that seemed to fill the entire room. The storage area seemed endless, bringing her nothing but confusion as she walked along the aisles between the mounds of belongings.

In the distance she could hear a sinister hissing that sounded as though it were from another world, yet it seemed oddly familiar to her and she had the sense that she was already acquainted with whatever it was she was feeling. She followed the piercing sound that seemed to ring through her mind, walking down a long aisle until she stood in front of a small table piled with a few items of clutter. She looked down to see an elegant light-brown box, covered in a piece of silky fabric. Pushing the cloth aside, she dusted the top of the box before slowly opening it to look at whatever was inside. Within the box there was an elegant, lavish looking tiara; adorned in several blue jewels and made of shiny silver, Rayna examined it to find the words, "wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," written on the side.

Rayna gasped, realizing the significance of the artifact as she picked it up to further examine it. She no longer worried about her friends or the meeting she was due to attend, instead she was curious to inquire more about the strange diadem she had come across. She stuffed the tiara into a pocket of her robes, shutting the box before making her way back to the door.

* * *

><p>"Where were you?" Hermione asked curiously as Rayna caught up to her, Harry and Ron on her way to the Great Hall.<p>

"I told you," Rayna replied calmly, "When I walked through the door to the room of requirement you weren't there. Why would you want to train in a place filled with piles of clutter anyway?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked curiously.

"It was a storage room." Rayna replied coldly.

"Of course," Hermione reasoned, "the Room of Requirement always comes equipped with the seekers needs. If Rayna hadn't thought about going to the meeting it may not have taken her there."

"What were you thinking of?" Harry asked suddenly, shooting her an accusing look.

"I wasn't thinking of anything," Rayna lied, realizing at once that she couldn't say she had been thinking about her father and the dream, "I guess I just forgot to think of the meeting when I arrived. It was a simple mistake."

Harry nodded, seeming to buy the lie as they all walked into the Great Hall. Though Rayna was starving, she decided to skip the feast at the last minute, excusing herself as she turned and walked back out the door, much to the confusion of her friends. She walked briskly along the castle's corridors, her robes billowing behind her as she made her way down to the school's library. Her arrival seemed to catch Madame Pince off guard, as she hadn't been expecting anyone to come in during the feast; she seemed even less thrilled as she realized it was Rayna, having always been wary of the girl and the books she chose to read.

"Riddle," Madame Pince said simply as Rayna hastily made her way over to a bookshelf near the other end of the room, "I trust you realize that just because the evening feast is in progress, the restricted section is still guarded."

"Yes ma'am," Rayna replied simply, "though we've never had a problem like that before, so I don't see why we would now."

Nothing more was said as they both went back to what they were doing; Rayna eagerly scanned the spines of books along the shelf and Madame Pince eyed her suspiciously from afar. Rayna finally spotted the one she wanted, a particularly thick biography of Rowena Ravenclaw. She took it out from its place, carrying it over to one of the tables lining the room as she opened it up and began to scan its pages for anything that had anything to do with a diadem.

Eventually she came across a small passage dealing with the myth surrounding an artifact similar to the one she had found locked away within the room of requirement. Though few things jumped out at her there were a couple things that had stuck; it was merely a myth carried down over hundreds of years, not a person alive has seen it, and that it was said to have magical qualities that would enhance the wisdom of the wearer. Rayna found this amusing, though she didn't put much stock into it. It was clear to her that the tiara she had found within the room of requirement was laced with dark magic, something she highly doubted that Rowena Ravenclaw would surround herself with. Rayna closed the book before heading down to the dungeons and into the Slytherin common room, eager to finally get some rest.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**I'm dying to know what you think of this chapter, so please review and tell me what you think. (:**

**I'm also curious to hear your thoughts on a possible romance building between Rayna and Draco. Too cliché, do you think? Eventually I want to pair her with someone, and I originally thought Draco, but I don't know. It won't be the main focus in the story.**

**And for those of you who are dying for a darker Rayna, hang in there. I promise you she will end up dark enough to rival her father. I just love dark characters, don't you? (:**


	4. Christmas

A/N: Thanks magic4ever, DamonSalvatoreLover, taco-tuesday, Amanda2308, Maddevillechilde, and Callisto for reviewing chapter three! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Chapter Four: Christmas

Rayna was awoken late in the night as a prefect shook her furiously, without a doubt loathing her the same way everyone else did as she looked down at her with disdain etched in her features. She was instructed to head down to the common room, where Snape would be there to escort her out. Though Rayna had no idea what the whole ordeal was about, she knew it wouldn't be anything good; the last time she was taken out of her dorm this late she had been given detention with Snape for weeks after hurting Pansy.

"Riddle," Snape said simply, his voice as cold and deep as ever, "come with me."

"What for Professor," Rayna asked curiously, her tone as soft as she could manage.

Snape didn't answer, opting instead to pick up pace as he lead her hastily down the castle's hallways and over to the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Rayna had only been there a few times before, but she knew enough to realize that in order to get through they needed a password and that the spiral staircase would rise to take them up to the Headmaster's quarters. What she didn't understand was why she was being taken to see the Headmaster so late at night; though she knew it must have been something terrible, she couldn't figure out what.

Suddenly fear gripped her; she thought back to the mysterious tiara she had taken from the Room of Requirement several weeks ago while trying to attend the Dumbledore's Army meeting. She realized that, if anything, that had to be why she was in so much trouble. Rayna felt her stomach coil into a huge knot and her breath became caught in her throat; the truth is, she had no idea why she even kept it –it wasn't that she saw value in it, though she knew it had to be; instead it was like something had been telling her to keep it with her, like she had a certain connection to the strange magical artifact that urged her to take it. For whatever reason, she kept it hidden within her trunk beneath her bed, safe and forever within her reach.

When Dumbledore's office finally came into view she saw several other people within the room eagerly awaiting the next bit of information. She saw all of the Weasley's, Harry, McGonagall and Dumbledore all frantically chatting though they appeared to all have just gotten out of bed. Snape seemed to be the only one of them properly dressed, his long billowing robes and alert expression extremely unlike the pajamas and tired, worried expressions of the rooms other inhabitants. The second Snape brought Rayna in he walked back out of the room without another word.

Dumbledore instructed McGonagall to prepare a portkey for the Weasley's, who followed after her as they left the room, again leaving Rayna behind in their wake. She looked over at Ginny, who failed miserably to meet her eye contact, her expression growing almost fearful as Rayna stared back at her, her gaze seemingly glued to the floor in front of her before she too made her way out the door.

"Your current guardian, Arthur Weasley, was found badly injured tonight within the ministry," Dumbledore said slowly, his bright blue eyes filled with concern and sympathy.

Rayna sighed, though it was more out of relief than concern as she realized that everyone was still ignorant of her taking what she was beginning to suspect to be Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem. Dumbledore paused for a moment, as though he had been carefully assessing her every movement and gesture before finally continuing on.

"Fortunately, he has been found and taken to St. Mungo's."

"That isn't why you called me here," Rayna said simply, forcing herself to maintain perfect composure.

"Do you know how we came to find out about Arthur's situation?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward slightly as his eyes seemed to bore into her.

"No sir," Rayna replied calmly, her interest peaked.

"Harry saw it in a dream," Dumbledore replied, causing Rayna's heart to sink, terrified that her friends had informed him of her similar circumstance, "you are aware of the connection between Harry and Voldemort, I fear that like Harry you have a similar connection-"

"No," Rayna snapped, catching him off-guard, "There is no connection between my father and me. I'm not Harry, so don't even think about putting me into some life-threatening situation just to save your own skin. Whatever Ginny told you, she doesn't understand."

"Your father never trusted me either," Dumbledore continued softly, "and I dare say I never truly trusted him."

"Stop comparing me to him." Rayna replied coldly.

"Rayna, I'm only trying to help you," Dumbledore continued, "Professor Snape can teach you occlumency, you can block him out of your mind."

"I don't need your help," Rayna replied calmly, her tone suggesting a growing impatience, "if you don't mind, I would like to return to bed."

"I thought you might wish to see Arthur," Dumbledore continued as if challenging her, "he is your current guardian after all."

"Current guardian, sir," Rayna replied with disinterest before adding, "he isn't my permanent guardian and I hardly expect it to last any longer than a few more months. Soon enough I'll be back in the orphanage and you'll have one more thing to compare me to my father."

"Very well then," Dumbledore said simply, his eyes lighting with a sudden interest, "you may go back to bed."

Rayna gave a brief nod before turning and heading out the door, eager to get back to her dorm so she wasn't completely zonked by the time she went to class the next morning. It seemed to take forever to navigate through the vast corridors of the castle, seeing only from the faint glow of the illuminated tip of her wand as she zipped past a multitude of paintings, statues and stone. She was fast approaching the dungeons, but something made her stop in her tracks –a faint noise that sounded entirely too similar to the sinister hissing sound she had heard coming from the diadem.

"_Rayna,"_ the voice hissed softly.

"Yes?" Rayna replied subconsciously, her voice cracking slightly as she trembled.

For a moment nothing happened, the voice had eluded her, yet the unnerving air that she felt consume her was ever more present. In that moment her dreams became reality –her father and the connection she knew she had was no longer a distant improbability, but a real threat. It was that moment she realized that she couldn't stay on the verge of both sides, remaining neutral and concealing her feelings of doubt from the light. Her mind felt cloudy, shrouded with doubt and resentment as she thought about the stress of such a decision.

"_I will see you soon Rayna," _the voice said softly –its voice so cold it made the hair on her neck stand on end as it resonated throughout her very mind, _"you've already made your decision."_

Rayna felt herself tense up as the reality of his words hit her –had she already made her decision? She didn't know, she was conflicted between what she wanted and what she had been taught was the right thing to do. Too often she was told that her father and all that Lord Voldemort had done was an abomination –the darkest and most horrific of acts- yet she hadn't ever truly seen the wrong in it for herself. The way she saw it, the order and the death eaters were just based on point of view –after all, she never really saw solace in the light.

"_There is no good or evil, Rayna, there is only power and those too weak to seek it…" _the voice continued, trailing off as it seemed to echo throughout the corridor.

Despite what the world had always told her, Rayna felt solace in her father's words. She sighed, letting out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding as she relaxed her body; she soon felt his presence leave her and she returned to the same passive state she was in before she had heard the sinister hissing noise. Continuing throughout the corridor, Rayna walked back to her dorm, heading off to bed in the dead of night.

…

It wasn't long before Rayna was on the train from Hogwarts heading back to spend Christmas with the Weasley's. Though she wasn't overly keen on the idea, Dumbledore and the others insisted that she would be both welcome and encouraged to act as one of their own; despite knowing that most of it was just a façade, and that they would never really trust in her, she felt some comfort in knowing that they were at least trying. Weeks passed by and she heard nothing from her father; she encountered no strange voices or outlandish dreams, yet his presence seemed to linger within her like a disease. She found herself pondering it constantly –the decision she would eventually have to make and the consequences of what her decision would be.

When she arrived at her destination she was ultimately shocked; rather than bringing her to the familiar lopsided and homely house the Weasley's occupied, she was standing in front of a wide stretch of muggle houses. Two mailboxes stood in front of her, and she looked down to see that though there was a house number 11 and 13, there was no mailbox labeled 12. She looked up and saw that it was the same with the numbers on the houses. She turned, staring over at Remus Lupin, who had been the one to accompany her there, though he just tapped his foot on the ground clearly three times, a lingering pause resonating between each stomp. Between the two houses, another house wedged its way into view, pushing the other two in the opposite direction, though the muggles inside didn't appear to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Number 12, Grimmauld place," Remus said simply, walking forward into the house before adding, quite reluctantly, "headquarters for the order."

Rayna nodded, stepping inside to find it as unlike she would have expected as possible; for being the headquarters of the order of the phoenix, it was as dark and dreary as something she would expect from a death eater. Inside she could hear the soft drone of several people speaking darkly; she was greeted by Mrs. Weasley, who, despite Rayna's heritage, had always been more civil to her than anyone else she had ever known. A homely woman with red hair as bright as her several kids, she placed her hand gingerly on Rayna's shoulder, smiling back at her as she addressed her.

"The others are upstairs," Mrs. Weasley said firmly, looking over at the decrepit looking staircase to their left, "I've just put on dinner; I'll call you down when it's ready."

"Thank you," Rayna said calmly, forcing a smile back at her before turning to head upstairs as instructed.

Rayna felt the same anger she felt back when she had first learned about her friends and their betrayal to Dumbledore; though time had passed since that night, the memory was fresh in her mind. She wandered up the steps of the house, pausing momentarily to examine the strange jars and artifacts that lined the shelves within the walls. Her lips curled into a sinister smirk as she pondered her friends demise –getting back at them for breaking her trust. She could feel her sanity slipping, she was becoming more and more like that which she told herself constantly to suppress –she was no longer the Rayna who fit in so well with her Gryffindor friends, she was herself –the spitting image of her father in so many ways.

"Rayna-" Hermione said suddenly as Rayna walked into the room.

Sitting down idly before a small fire, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were all chatting and mingling amongst themselves. This was the kind of thing she was once used to –once even enjoyed. But now it just felt awkward and unnatural, like she wasn't meant to be there after all. She felt like a death eater listening in on the order –she wasn't to be trusted, and her own trust was not to be taken seriously. The four of them quickly shut up as they registered her appearance, without a doubt curious as to what would soon go down; they all recognized that someone had betrayed her, the question was who.

"Save it Hermione," Rayna said coldly, "I could beat around the bush, but I won't –I'll be brash, like a Gryffindor."

"What are you talking about?" Ron said rudely, slowly revealing his contempt for her far quicker than the other three had been.

"I trusted you two," Rayna said, ignoring him as she turned toward Ginny and Hermione, a silence resonating throughout the room, "You know how I feel about Dumbledore."

"It's irrational Rayna," Hermione said desperately, "when I heard Arthur was injured –and that Harry had seen it in a dream, I just thought that –well, Dumbledore would gain something from knowing."

"You were still sleeping, you couldn't have told him." Rayna said simply, turning toward Ginny, "I already know it was you."

"My father was dying!" Ginny said defensively, "You have no idea what it's like! I would have given any information that would have helped my dad!"

"Don't I?" Rayna shot back, her lips curling into an involuntary twisted smirk, "My father has died several times, if anyone understands, I should."

For a moment silence ensued; no one said anything as they registered Rayna's sudden dark humor and twisted expression. It was so unlike the Rayna they knew, so similar to her father that it was almost frightening as she stared back at him. They could feel the change within her, perhaps more than she could herself.

"That really isn't funny," Hermione said sternly, her mouth forming a thin line as she looked back at her gravely.

"Humor is relative," Rayna said, laughing a high, cold laugh that seemed to resonate throughout the room as though ten Rayna's were laughing at once; Ginny and Harry adopted horrified looks, though Rayna could not stop laughing.

"You're right," Rayna finally said, molding her face into an impassive expression that revealed nothing, "I don't know what came over me, I just… I feel terrible that I put my trust in you and you betrayed that."

No one knew what to say, what they had just witnessed and what Rayna was now saying were so contradictory that it was nearly impossible to decipher her actions and intentions. She didn't quite understand what had compelled her to make up with her friends and let the conflict go, but she found herself apologizing and returning back to her usual demeanor, much to the relief of her friends. One thing, however, was certain; she would forgive, but she would never forget –they would eventually pay for their betrayal, no matter how trivial the matter may have appeared.

"No," Ginny replied, her expression growing sympathetic and regretful, "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I hope you can understand."

"Of course," Rayna said sweetly, her smile becoming more genuine and charming as she bit back her sinister smirk, "you were only doing it to protect Arthur, I'm as glad as you are that he's back safe and well."

Ginny beamed along with the others, the only one that still seemed skeptical of her was Ron, though Hermione and Harry held looks of a bit-back reluctance toward her. Rayna found herself determined to win back the trust of her friends, no matter what the means of doing so entitled; she would ensure things were back to their former glory.

…

When the rest of the house had gone to bed, Rayna sat awake, staring up idly at the ceiling above her bed as she remained deep in thought. She played her dreams over in her head, lingering on every small detail as she searched for similarities, signs and differences. Several things stuck out to her, though none of them seemed to make any sense to her. In every dream she had, she met her father within the Ministry of magic, in a room called the Hall of Prophesy –a room she hadn't even known to exist beyond myth and rumor. In each dream, she had been strangely drawn to one particular prophesy –one addressed to her, though she was never actually able to read it. So far, everything her father had told her was true, though she knew there was something beyond what he had told her –something she had to figure out on her own.

"_Of course…" _Rayna thought to herself,_ "Arthur Weasley was attacked within the ministry… I bet anything he was in the hall of prophesy."_

Rayna sat up, careful not to disturb Ginny and Hermione, who were sleeping soundly in other areas of the small room. She reached down to pull her suitcase over to her, opening it quietly before rummaging through its contents to the bottom of her luggage, where she stored the tiara she found within the Room of Requirement. She ran her fingers along its curves and crevices, obsessively examining every last inch of the strange artifact as thoughts continued to race through her mind.

Suddenly and without warning, Rayna was thrown into a state of unconsciousness, her mind clouded with horrific images that were all too familiar to her. She was engulfed in powerful dark magic, dark magic that both terrified and fascinated her. She saw her father, his pale and snake-like form looking back at her emotionlessly –she saw a tall, handsome looking boy with jet-black hair, alabaster skin and cold blue eyes identical to hers; his head upturned toward the ceiling as he panted and writhed in agony –she saw a great black snake, its mouth opened dangerously as it struck forward before the next image flashed before her –she saw a cave concealed beneath the cliffs, a dark and ominous fog looming out from it and into the ocean water –and then she saw herself, though just a newborn baby, she saw herself looking back at her, the image disturbing her perhaps even more than any of the others. She was thrown back into reality just as quickly as the world was taken from her.

"_Keep it safe Rayna," _a familiar voice hissed dangerously, laced with threat in the split second reality once again caught up with her, as though it were but the remnants of the visions.

Rayna nodded, though she didn't know why she bothered since there was no way the voice could have heard or much less seen her doing so. She looked around, terrified that either Hermione or Ginny would have woken up –though she intended to examine the object, she wasn't expecting to be taken from her world. With a sigh of relief, she confirmed that they were both sound asleep and leaned back in her bed, placing the diadem back down in her suitcase before curling up in her sheets.

A few things were clear; the tiara was clouded with powerful dark magic, it had everything to do with her father, and it was vital that no one should find it.

…

Two days later Rayna woke up on Christmas morning to find that both Ginny and Hermione had already headed downstairs. The whole ordeal was amusing to Rayna, who had never experienced a holiday quite like this one; they had spent the preceding day putting up Christmas decorations and laughing amongst themselves. She had to admit that she wasn't feeling nearly as down and dark as she had been, the demeanor and joy of the others being as infectious as it was. Perhaps this was why she hadn't expected to wake up and find two relatively small, elegant looking packages sitting idly at the foot of her bed.

Rayna sat up and grabbed them; she knew they couldn't have been from anyone here –the Slytherin crest was stamped upon the fancier looking one and they were both wrapped neatly in expensive parchments unlike anything the Weasley's could afford. She picked up the lavish looking, fancier one and removed the small envelope from the top, opening it carefully before reading the elegant, educated script.

_**Rayna,**_

_**I deeply regret that you have to spend your Christmas with the Weasley's, but know that it will not be long until you are relieved of them. **_

_**Happy Christmas.**_

_**Lucius Malfoy**_

Rayna stared at the note for a moment before setting it down to the side of her. She grabbed the small package, taking it in her lap before undoing all of the complicated folds and removing the elegant, emerald green paper to reveal a small box. She opened it to find a beautiful silver necklace with a serpent charm adorned in several shiny, emerald green jewels. It was beautiful –a perfect representation of Slytherin house. Though she knew the company she held wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much as she did, she decided to put it on; she disregarded the intuition that they would almost surely hoard her with questions about it, though she knew she couldn't give away its true origins.

After another lingering moment she looked over to the other package, grabbing it in her lap before folding back all of the folds and wrappings to reveal a large book. It was a dark black, looking as though it came from straight out of Borgin and Burkes; the cover read, _"The Darkest Forms of Magic,"_ and nothing more. Sure, she found dark magic fascinating, but that didn't stop her from having to do a double take as she picked up the book. She knew that if anyone here saw it, they would immediately take it from her and get rid of it, but something in her made her keep it, believing that there were no forms of magic that weren't worth exploring and inquiring about. She noticed a bit of parchment sticking out from the front page and opened the cover; immediately, a bit of parchment fell out from its pages. Rayna picked it up to examine the letter.

_**Rayna,**_

_**Take this and read it over the course of the year, it contains a variety of topics I think you would be most interested in. Happy Christmas Rayna, we shall see each other again soon.**_

_**Your Father**_

Rayna gasped, taking a moment to take in the situation; she knew she couldn't say anything about this, not even the letter –if they saw even the letter then the book would be taken from her. She thought about it for a moment –about everything she had been constantly hiding from those closest to her; for once in a long while, tears began to sting her eyes. She was betraying their trust, concealing useful information and aiding her father in a variety of ways. Sure, he was her father, but only in the most literal sense; these were the people she grew up with, the people she loved.

"_But you don't really love them."_ Said a high, cold voice in the back of her mind.

"No," Rayna whispered to herself, "No I don't."

Rayna snapped out of her trance, putting everything away in her suitcase before turning to head downstairs and join the others. When she reached the bottom, the house was hardly recognizable –the cobwebs that once showered every inch of the rooms were replaced by brightly colored garland and streamers, magical glittering snow covered the bare carpet, and a brilliant Christmas tree hid the Black family tree from view. As they sat down in the living room, everyone chatted merrily amongst themselves; the infectious atmosphere making them forget all about the current climate within the wizarding world.

"Rayna!" Hermione said happily as she walked up to her and stuffed a neatly wrapped package in her hands.

"I know," Hermione said casually as she saw Rayna look at the elegant gold and red wrapping paper, "They're Gryffindor colors -but I wasn't going to go out and buy another roll when you don't get along with your own house anyway."

"Thank you, Hermione," Rayna said warmly, molding her face into a charming smile that had Hermione beaming.

Soon the others did the same, and Rayna gave them all their gifts. She received a homework planner from Hermione, one identical to the ones she had given Ron and Harry, a knitted scarf from Mrs. Weasley, a book on advanced defensive magic from Harry, which she noted was the exact opposite of what she had received from her father, and an unusually strong scented perfume from Ginny.

Once they had all had their Christmas lunch, the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Rayna were planning to pay Mr. Weasley a visit at St. Mungo's, escorted by Mad-Eye and Lupin. The journey there was quick, taken in a muggle car that Mundungus Fletcher "borrowed" for the occasion. When they reached Arthur's room, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley almost instantly got into an argument concerning Mr. Weasley's use of stitches, a muggle method for healing cuts, as a method of recovery; Rayna knew it wouldn't have been as bad if the stitches actually worked, but apparently the snake's venom dissolved the thread before they could effectively work.

"I fancy a cup of tea," Harry said suddenly, jumping up to his feet.

Rayna, Hermione, Ginny and Ron almost sprinted out the door with him, the door swinging closed behind them just as the heard Mrs. Weasley's shriek, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S THE GENERAL IDEA?"

After wandering around the building aimlessly attempting to find the tea room, they found themselves at the start of a corridor signposted SPELL DAMAGE. A man was peering out at them with his nose pressed against the glass. With wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes and a broad vacant smile revealing dazzlingly white teeth, they saw their old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from second year pushing open the door and moving toward them, wearing a long lilac dressing gown.

"Why hello there," Professor Lockhart said enthusiastically, "I expect you'd like my autograph, would you?"

"Hasn't changed much, has he?" Harry muttered to Ginny, who grinned.

"Er – how are you, Professor?" Ron said guiltily, remembering that it was his malfunctioning wand that landed him in St. Mungo's.

"I'm very well indeed, thank you!" Lockhart replied exuberantly, "Now, how many autographs would you like? I can do joined-up writing now, you know?"

"We don't want any autographs," Rayna said coldly, earning her several warning looks from the others, "Shouldn't you be in a ward, I highly doubt patients here are allowed to roam about freely in the corridors."

Just then a head poked out of a door at the far end of the corridor and a voice said, "Gilderoy, you naughty boy, where have you wandered off to?"

A motherly looking healer wearing a tinsel wreath in her hair came busting up the corridor, smiling warmly at Rayna and the others. She began to pull them into the ward for long-term residents, saying something about how pleased she was that Lockhart had visitors as they swarmed uncomfortably into a room that bore all of the unmistakable signs of being a permanent ward for long term residents; all of the inhabitants had personal effects around their beds with pictures of loved ones and artifacts. Rayna felt uncomfortable, so she stayed back behind her friends as they stood around Lockhart's hospital bed.

Rayna was drawn to the corner of the room, were flowery curtains had been drawn around two beds at the far end of the ward to give the occupants and their visitors some privacy. Rayna stared awkwardly, her gaze seeming to be glued on the sight before an old woman wearing a long green dress and a moth-eaten fox fur pulled back the curtains. Behind her, she saw Neville Longbottom looking thoroughly depressed.

"And, -oh, Mrs. Longbottom, are you leaving already?"

Rayna looked over at the two beds behind the curtains, seemingly amused by the unusual sight. Rayna droned out the others for a moment as she craned her head inconspicuously to look over at Neville's parents; his mother was thin and worn, her overlarge eyes and wispy, dead looking white hair made her look nothing like she had seen in Harry's picture of the original Order of the Phoenix. She couldn't seem to speak no matter how hard she tried, making timid motions toward Neville as she held something in her outstretched hand.

"My son and his wife," Mrs. Longbottom said, one of the few things Rayna actually picked up from the conversation, "were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers."

Rayna broke her gaze, watching as Neville stepped forward to take what his mother held out to him. She dropped an empty Droobles Blowing Gum wrapper into his hand, and Rayna noticed him put in into his pocket, despite his grandmother telling him to put the wrapper in the bin. Neville, who stilled looked as awkward and uncomfortable as ever, bid them all goodbye before walking out of the room behind his grandmother with haste.

Rayna looked over at the two aurors who had been tortured into insanity on her father's behalf –she couldn't help but not feel bad, her father, after all, had made more of his life than these two aurors. Rayna felt a cruel smile bubbling up within her, yet she was quick to suppress it and take on a look of pity before her friends could notice her sinister demeanor. She didn't understand what was making her feel this way, but she was angrier with the two aurors who had been driven to insanity than anything; they worked against her father, they did this to themselves and deserved what they got.

"_We'll make them all pay Rayna," _her father's voice hissed coldly, _"they will all meet this fate."_

**A/N: Don't forget to review! I promised you a darker Rayna, and here we have it, she's growing darker. How do you all feel about her growing progressively closer to her father? Is it realistic? She's never really had a family or a father figure, so it's not an impossibility I don't think. Thoughts? Opinions? Comments? Concerns? Criticism? Have at it. (:**

**-Hanson**


	5. Liar

_**A/N: Haven't updated in over a year, my bad. Heroin destroyed my life and I did 6 months in county and another 9 in Brighton center. But I'm back and 6 months sober, so here ya go. I appreciate all the reviews and I hope you review this chapter. (: So, read on. **_

**Chapter 5: Liar**

Scarlett walked down the decrepit steps of Grimmald Place, finding that while the others were busy having dinner, Arthur Weasley sat on the couch idly looking down at a fancy looking piece of parchment with a worried look on his face. Rayna sat down across from him in an ornate, lavish black armchair, withered with age much like the rest of the Black residence. She gave him a confused look when he looked up and sighed at her, making eye contact briefly before his tired eyes darted back down to the floor. She began to think that maybe he hadn't stayed in Saint Mungo's long enough when he began to speak softly.

"Rayna I'm sorry," he said deeply, "but the ministry believes you would do best in the Malfoy's care and legally there isn't much I can do about it."

"Excuse me," Rayna began angrily, raising her voice in a cold, calculating tone that made Mr. Weasley's skin break out into goosebumps, "there isn't much you can do? That must mean there's something you can do."

Arthur shook his head, looking back at her with a deep look of remorse, "There's nothing I can do."

"When you took me in you promised you would take care of me," Rayna continued, "who's going to help me when I'm with the Malfoy's? You know how they are, and you know what could easily become of me."

"Rayna look," Arthur replied, "I tried, I really did, but if I don't give you up to them they'll throw me in Azkaban and you'll be taken anyway. You can't expect me to beat the ministry can you?"

"Wait," Rayna interrupted, though Weasley had more to say, "you mean to say you knew all along and you didn't warn me? When does this take effect?"

"I knew," he said simply, "I just didn't know it would be so soon. I thought I could fight it, I really did, but they're already threatening to make me stand trial. I have a family Rayna, I need to…"

"When does it take effect?" Rayna interrupted coldly, her voice betraying no hint of the mixed emotions that flooded through her head.

"Immediately when you return to Hogwarts," he answered, burying his head in his hands for a brief moment, "you won't be returning to us anymore."

Rayna stood up from her seat briskly walking over to an old mirror on the wall, looking into her own cold, dead eyes as she pondered the situation. Rage washed over her- rage for the people who claimed to stand as her "family," rage toward her friends, and rage for the people who did nothing to ensure her own well-being. Where was Dumbledore to save the day? Where was the great Harry Potter? From where she stood she realized she might as well have been in the care of her despised father, the only person who ever seemed to take any interest in her anymore. She reached out to him in her mind, and found some comfort in knowing he would talk to her again soon, perhaps even tonight in her dreams. When she did she felt a strange sensation, one of dominance and control, one that played on her rage and fed on the fear she tried to suppress over the situation, knocking it down to the size of a flea. She smirked, touching the ornate looking serpent necklace falling brilliantly just below her neck, though the expression couldn't reach her eyes; she didn't want to live with the Malfoy's, but at least Lucius clearly had given it some effort to get her into his care, which was more in her mind than the Weasley's bothered to do.

"So what now Mr. Weasley," she began sardonically, turning around to face him with the same cold, dead smirk, "what happens to me now? Maybe they'll recruit me to the death eaters? Would you let them take your own children? When you and Molly promised me I had finally found a home, when you two told me I was one of you, what did that mean? Were you two trying to help a lost cause, because I sure as hell am not a charity case, I don't need any of you any more than you need me, don't forget that."

"You know that's not the case," he answered uneasily, "you know we love you and would do anything for you."

"Except keep me away from the death eaters that are trying to bring me back to my father." Rayna spat curtly, "forgot about that one already?"

"That's not going to happen."

"Oh?" she said, finally reaching a dangerously high breaking point, "I assure you it will, and when it does, don't feel sorry for yourself when another snake goes to bite you in the ass."

"Are you threatening me?" he asked loudly, looking confused as he stared back at her.

"So what if I am?" she replied, her blood close to boiling, "I could kill you and it wouldn't be as bad as what your doing to me."

"That's over reacting and that's not something you can say to me."

"I'll say whatever the hell I want," Rayna spat, raising her voice as though a huge barrier had broken in her, and a tiny tear flew down her face, almost invisible to the naked eye, "you think that just because I've stayed with you for a few months it makes you invulnerable, it doesn't. I could have been valuable to you people, if you think my heritage doesn't have any perks your dead wrong, but instead you let me fall into the wrong hands, and if you think I won't do what it takes to survive, you are mistaken."

"Be rational here," he replied desperately, "you don't even know what's going to happen. We'll probably get you back before the year even ends. I won't let you fall under your father, I just won't and you've got to believe me."

"Then prove it." Rayna shot back, "But you can't, can you? Because you know it's not the truth. But jokes on you Weasley, I'm actually starting to look forward to it."

"I hope you mean living with the Malfoy's and not falling into Voldemort's care."

"Of course," she lied simply, "they do have a lot of money, after all."

With that she looked down at the wooden floor beneath her feet, the end of her simple black robes cascading brilliantly down onto the ground. For a moment she just stared at her feet, her mind empty aside from the strong pang of rage and betrayal that was boiling dangerously inside of her, she felt like breaking something, like shooting a fatal curse directly into Mr. Weasley's head. Nothing made sense anymore; her life was a lie, one cruel, dark lie. She didn't know who to trust and believe and who to make allies with. After all this time of parading around like a prisoner with the light, she finally began to question their motives with her. Sure, it sounded all good and filled with the best-intent, but in a world where everyone strives to get to the top, she had to look out for herself first, because no one else was going to do it for her. She let her hand slide down into the pockets of her robe, her long, thin fingers wrapping around the dark wood of her wand. She closed her eyes, trying to halt the warm sting of tears burning at her eyes; if there was one thing in life she hated, it was being vulnerable. In a moment she snapped, unable to control herself any longer and she found herself pulling out her wand, the words in her head threatening to spew out of her mouth at any given moment. Arthur braced himself, standing up and pulling out his own wand in defense. Before Rayna could say anything Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and the owner of Grimmauld Place ran into the room, pointing his wand over at Rayna without a thought.

"What is going on in here?" Sirius asked loudly, causing the others to follow hastily into the room behind him.

"Nothing," Rayna replied calmly, deciding it best to tone the situation down and get a hold of herself, "we were just talking. I got upset and lashed out. I'm sorry Arthur, forgive me."

Everyone was stunned, watching as Rayna withdrew her wand and darted out the door into the cold night without another word. She didn't look back, not even for a glance as she breezed through the dreary street and into the cover of the dark. She grabbed her hair in a tight vice-grip, wanting to scream as she let the emotion flow through her veins. She took out her wand and slashed it violently at a tall, muggle telephone poll, causing it to fly dangerously into the brick wall of a muggle home with a brilliant series of sparks and flying wires. In the morning they would blame it on the wind and she knew it, causing Rayna to smirk at her own display of chaos and destruction, somewhat relieving the pent up anger coursing through her.

"Rayna what is going on?" she heard from behind her, causing her expression to drop instantly.

"Whatever do you mean?" Rayna replied casually, turning around to look at Hermione and Harry, who were nearly out of breath from trying to catch up to her.

"You're not acting like yourself," Harry continued carefully, "you're beginning to scare me- everyone! Something's happened to you and we need to know what it is, we can help."

"Don't let yourself give in Ray," Hermione added, desperation lacing her voice as though she was on the verge of tears, "what happened back at the house, that wasn't you. You need to fight it, like Harry. We're your friends and we love you, don't turn your back on us now."

"Like. Harry." Rayna said softly, hatred lacing her tone, "Last time I checked, I'm not Harry. I'm Rayna, Rayna Riddle. And in case you haven't noticed, let me spell it out for you, you're not my friends."

"Ray of course we're your friends," Harry replied quickly, "we love you."

"Love?" Rayna spat coldly before adopting a calmer tone, "What does that even mean?"

Harry's expression dropped dramatically, and tears began to cascade down Hermione's cheeks like a waterfall. He reached out to touch her, but Rayna jerked her arm away before he had the chance, causing him to sigh in disappointment. Rayna turned to leave but Hermione grabbed her, letting out a loud sob as she did so, but Rayna was quick to whip out her wand and shoot a flash of brilliant, neon blue sparks out of it's tip, hitting Hermione like a ton of bricks as she flung straight back into the wall of a house, much like the muggle telephone poll did just moments earlier. Hermione was out cold, her body and face covered in bright bruises that looked almost other-worldly. Harry ran over to help, yelling at Rayna as he crouched down and grabbed the unconscious girl, and with that Rayna was gone in a few seconds under cover of the night once again. She no longer regret her actions, and though the anger had subsided, she needed to find a proper outlet, she needed to know for sure if she was making the right choice, so she looked around for a quiet muggle house, knowing exactly what she had to do to prove it to herself.

"This one should do," Rayna muttered to herself, staring up at a thin but long, brick town house much like the multitude of others that lined the streets in uniform.

She looked over at an open window, the blinds pulled back and the long red curtains pushed to the side so that she could see a young, maybe sixteen year old muggle girl looking at herself in front of her vanity, brushing her hair delicately beside her makeup caked face. Rayna scoffed, why did people have to be so vain? Especially muggles. None of the other windows of the house had any light shining through, so she assumed that the rest of the family could be easily taken care of without any worry of witnesses peering inside unnoticed. Rayna smirked, butterflies in her stomach as she thought about what she was about to do, she almost turned around, considering the idea stupid and reckless, but something kept her there, directly in front of the doorway, crushing any thought of turning around. The voice in her head that moved her forward.

"_You know you need this Rayna," the voice hissed coldly, egging her on, "prove yourself, show me how to make them pay."_

Rayna looked around in vain, seeing nothing around her but the humid night and a few street lights shining brightly across the streets. She didn't move, her legs seeming to turn to lead as she thought it all over in her head. Her father knew she was here, he wanted her to walk through that door and raise hell, yet something was keeping her from moving forward. She deduced that it might be the guilt, the sinking feeling in her stomach that she had felt when she cursed Hermione just minutes before, but the guilt was quickly replaced by hatred and a desire to seek outlet when she thought about her so-called friends and the people in her life that claimed to have her best intentions in mind. She had to do this; she had to prove herself.

"_Walk through those doors," her father's voice echoed through her head, "there just muggles, don't give in to your emotions."_

It was as though he had read her mind, and he probably did, come to think of it. Sometimes it bothered her, being so easily breeched, but at this moment it just gave her the courage to continue, her feet lifting up off of the cement walkway and carrying her across the property and up to the front door. She took out her wand, letting her fingers graze across the dark, cherry black wooden stick that focused her power. Power. That's what she had, and she knew it. Until then she lived in fear, being underestimated and underestimating herself, she couldn't stop herself anymore, and as she easily unlocked the door to the house, snaking through the door and gliding silently up the staircase to where she would decide her fate. She was right, the rest of the muggle family was soundly asleep in their beds, completely unaware and naïve. It disgusted her, their ignorance. She felt a sinister smile pull up at the corners of her mouth, her eyes dancing with an insane glint that made her feel uneasy, yet passionate and eager to continue. She moved to the entrance of the only lit room, the light shining through the bottom of the door to the young teen's bedroom. Rayna pressed her hands against the wooden barrier, closing her eyes before pushing it open with a loud thud as the door slammed dramatically against the wall behind it.

The girl screamed as Rayna lurked forward, her smile still plastered across her cheeks. The muggle picked up a telephone and threw it at her, but Rayna was quick to completely eviscerate the object with a quick swish of her wand. She ran to the other side of the room, grabbing the nearest thing she could find, a brush, and lunged it at Rayna's head, though the witch was quicker, stepping to the side in a heartbeat and pointing her wand down at the girl, now sobbing uncontrollably as she slumped to the ground, her hands grabbing at the small night stand beside her bed as she hit the floor.

"What," Rayna began sardonically, power surging through her as she mocked the terrified muggle, "that's all you've got? My father was right, you muggles are nothing but cowards, and filth."

"Why are you here?" the girl sobbed, "I don't even know you!"

"Oh there, there," she mocked, "I'm just here to have a little fun with you. Like a slumber party! You do like slumber parties don't you…" Rayna paused, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?"

The girl sobbed some more and Rayna began to grow frustrated, looking down with distaste in her eyes, "Crucio!"

The girl screamed an ear-shattering scream that echoed through the entire household, Rayna cursed herself for not putting up a silencing spell ahead of time and decided it would be best to use a gagging curse, and with a flick of her wand, it was done. The girl thrashed and tears poured down her contorting face, her body squirming across the floor as Rayna concentrated heavily, making the curse increase in power and drive the girl nearly unconscious. Her fun was cut short when a middle-aged man whose face was filled with shock came running down the hall and stormed through the door, knocking Rayna to the ground with a small gun held to her face. Rayna laughed, her tone high and cold as she stared back into the barrel of the muggle weapon, knowing he would never be any match for her. She hit him with a curse, causing the gun to fly into the glass window, breaking the glass and falling down onto the floor as it hadn't quite shattered it completely. The man flew back and hit the wall, his body growing stiff and his throat closing up until he couldn't breathe, he grabbed at his neck, looking over at his terrified wife, who screamed in the doorway as she watched her husband try, in vain, to fight for his fragile life.

"Now now," Rayna began as she looked over at the woman, "he wasn't playing nicely."

"Why are you doing this?" she screamed, looking over at her teenage daughter, who was reduced to a fragile shell of her former self, muttering a bunch of desperate nonsense that sounded like the speech of a chronic drunk, the silencing curse now lifted.

Rayna took a few steps forward, looking the woman straight in the eyes before answering, "Because I can, and I want to."

Deciding that she had caused too much ruckus already, Rayna slowly raised her wand until the tip of the wood grazed the woman's nose, the she looked down, noticing that her belly was almost ten sizes too big, her thin cotton t-shirt clinging softly to a giant, rounded belly. Rayna's grin faltered, but she thought of her father and the desire for power propelled her to continue as she whispered, "crucio."

The woman's knees caved in instantly, causing her to fall with a loud thud onto the ground belly first. She grabbed her stomach, letting loose a shrill, desperate scream that made Rayna lose her focus and drop the curse. Rayna looked down at the woman who was now cradling her stomach in her arms, telling herself that everything was going to be okay. It was in this moment that she thought maybe she had made a mistake in coming here, but when she looked over at the dead husband and blithering daughter, she realized it was too late, and there was no turning back now. She had to finish what she started, and nothing could save her from falling from grace.

"_You have to finish this," she heard deep within her mind, "you've made your choice. There is no redemption for you now. You are what you were always meant to be from the moment of your conception- mine."_

Rayna's expression hardened, he was right. This had to be done, and she would be the one to do it. Petty emotions didn't matter anymore, that would make her no more successful than the order and the golden trio, driven by love and the desire to do good. Self-righteous and filled with pride. What sunk in most however was her father calling her his; it was like something in Rayna craved to be accepted and loved, and in that moment she had found that in her father.

"_Kill them," the voice spat, "now."_

Rayna pointed her wand down at the woman one last time, her mouth delivering the final words, "Avada Kadavra," and with a flash of bright green light, the woman was gone, her eyes staring coldly up at the ceiling with no life left in them. She turned to face the daughter, doing the same and quickly walked out the door, never glancing back. In her mind she felt she had overcome a huge obstacle, she had gotten back at the order and had relieved herself of the pain and hurt she had felt when Arthur Weasley had given her the news just earlier. She was finally herself, she didn't have to hide and for once someone was proud of her.

"_Well done my child," her father's voice cooed, "now down the hall to your left."_

Rayna walked down the hall, unaware of the house's final occupant. Soon she heard the loud crying echoing throughout the house, and when she walked inside, the sight of a small one year old baby made her heart drop. Pressed against the bars of the crib the child screamed, seeming to pierce right into Rayna's head as she walked over and rested her cold hand against the baby's soggy cheek in a gentle caress. Rayna had no desire to do this, but she knew it had to be done, for her father and for her own sake. She raised her wand, looking backwards as she let herself fall, speaking the words without emotion and without any hint of compassion, "Avada kadevra." And with that, the child's short life came to a screeching halt, the house growing dead silent and the atmosphere eerily heavy. Without looking at the child, Rayna turned and left the room where she let herself die inside. She would never be the same person again, and now more than ever, she wanted her father's praise, but that didn't come quickly as she thought it would, instead of hearing the comfort of the familiar voice in her head all she could feel was loneliness. Never before had she felt so very alone.

With heavy steps she walked out the door in silence, letting her feet carry her down the streets and closer to Grimmauld Place. No one would hear about the muggles in the wizarding world, no one would be there to care, and no one would be there to find out. No justice would be served and Rayna would go about her business as usual, seeming put together on the outside when inside she was fading fast, and no one would be there to pick her back up, no one could. She decided then and there that she would cut the bullshit and make up with her friends, proving herself useful by having the trust of the golden trio. It might take some effort at this point, but in the end it would be worth it and nothing would get between her and her fate that she now desired. She had been stupid, irrational and impulsive, but now she was cold and calculating, thinking clearly and devising a brilliant plan in her head, one that would grant her the unyielding approval of her father.

"_You're losing the approval of your familiars," spoke the cold voice of her father, "you know you're useful to me toward them, so why are you fighting it?"_

Rayna thought for a moment, realizing how right he was and how stupid she had been. Letting loose seemed so immature and trivial now that she had tortured and killed, now that she thought she was so sure of where she stood. Rayna nodded before replying, "You're right father." It was then she decided to make up with them, but she had to be convincing and she knew she had a lot of work to put into it, they wouldn't forget so easily.

She stepped through the door to the house of Black; on the outside it had looked deserted, like nobody had set foot in the place in a hundred years, but on the inside a dozen worried order members sat and stood about, chatting loudly about her and the events that took place. Rayna felt her heart drop, suddenly unsure of why she even came back when she remembered what her father had said. She looked tired and strained, as though she had just ran a marathon, her clothes wet and her medium length, pin-straight black hair messily plastered against her cheeks. Her bright blue eyes were unusually dull and cold, lacking any sort of emotion in them anymore, it was like looking into the eyes of a corpse, and when the room's occupants finally settled down and their voices dropped to silence, they were all wondering the same thing, what had happened to Rayna Riddle.

"Bloody hell," Ron began rudely, "what happened to you?"

Rayna sighed, biting her tongue briefly and taking a moment to compose herself before she started to speak, every pair of eyes in the room were now pinned on her, curious to what she had to say.

"It's been a rough night," she began, trying her best to put emotion into her voice, "I felt hurt, and now that I've cleared my head I realize that none of this is anyone's fault and I overreacted. The dreams I've had have had a huge impact on me and I let it get into my head; I took it out on my friends and I'm sorry. I hope all of you can forgive me."

Molly Weasley rushed over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug that Rayna returned, closing her eyes and nestling her head into the woman's shoulder. She released her after a moment, her hands still on the girls shoulders while she said, "It's okay hun, you look tired, go upstairs and get some rest."

Rayna nodded, they all seemed to buy it easily, though she knew she would have a long time to go before she regained everyone's trust back. She trailed up the stairs, her head feeling numb and incapable of thinking; the nights events seemed surreal, like by coming back here to the people she no longer cared for made it seem like it never happened. But Rayna knew better, and as she reached her room and laid down into the bed she let her mind trail to her father, the whole reason she was in this position. Though he wasn't physically with her, he had been with her all throughout her change, being the driving force behind her sudden switch in loyalty. For once in her life, she had found her purpose, now everything in her life made sense.

"Rayna?" Hermione said softly as she came into the room.

"Yes?" Rayna replied, turning over in her bed to face her friend.

"If you need anything," she began, "I can help you. I know it must be hard to be yourself when you have Voldemort inside your head… even Harry's struggling with it. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Arthur was able to fix it like it never happened."

"Thanks," she returned, biting her tongue so she wouldn't say anything stupid before giving Hermione a slight smile, "It really is, sometimes it's hard to remember what side your on, but I always remember who's there for me in the end. I'm sorry I hurt you, I didn't want to and I feel terrible about it."

"You know we're your friends," she continued, "and I'm glad you're finally talking about this."

"Me too, I kept it all in and I finally let myself snap, but I'm glad I did, I needed it."

"What does he tell you," Hermione asked, "in your dreams?"

Rayna thought for a moment, carefully planning out what she was going to say, "He wants me to switch sides- to drop all my friends and join him when he returns. Sometimes it gets to me, he is my father after all and I've never had that, but I know what it would mean for the wizarding world and what it would mean for myself. I know he could never care for me, and you guys do."

"That's great to hear," Hermione beamed, rushing over to hug her before adding, "we don't mean to offend you or anything Ray, it's getting hard to trust anything anymore and you've been hiding from us. Every bit of information is important and can help with this."

"I know," she replied, "I'll tell you guys everything on the train tomorrow. Though there's not much more to add. I'm kind of tired right now and I think Harry and Ron would want to hear it too."

"Okay," Hermione accepted, turning to walk out of the room, "I'm glad your back Rayna, we were all worried about you."

"I never really left," she replied, feeling a slight twinge of guilt as she smiled back at her friend, "I was just confused."

Rayna watched her leave, shutting the door behind her with a thud. She sighed, closing her eyes as she let her head drop into the pillows. She didn't understand why she still felt guilty, but decided it would pass soon enough when everything was done and over with and she was finally standing alongside her father. They wouldn't last long anyway, they could barely prevent Voldemort's return several times and she strongly doubted they even had a chance now that he was about to be at large and finally back to his original state. She pushed the guilt back into her mind and thought about how satisfied killing the muggle family had made her feel, the butterflies in her stomach as she delivered the final blow, the twinge of enjoyment she had felt when she tortured the young girl, and the resentment towards herself she felt when she couldn't look at the infant as she killed him. That was her only problem in her mind.

She let curiosity get the better of her and she jumped up to find her suitcase at the other side of the room. She dug to the bottom, throwing articles of clothing and robes around her until she reached the large black book at the bottom, filled with the darkest forms of magic. She picked it up and sat down in a small armchair close by. As she sunk into the seat she opened the book up to the first page, where she found a short message written in fancy, nearly perfect looking red writing.

_My child,_

_ I assume that in reading this you have finally made the right choice, and I have no doubt that these spells will be of much use to you. I too read this while attending Hogwarts, during my 5__th__ year. Remember, it's important that you keep the trust of your "friends," when they finally go to the department of mysteries, I will see you again and you will return with me to where you're meant to be. _

_Your Father_

Rayna smiled, and as she flipped through all the pages in a matter of hours, she found herself trying to suppress the pressing urge to try them all out. She ate the information up, her mind soaking in all the writing and she wondered if anyone other than death eaters had ever even considered learning the dark, forbidden magic it contained. When she got to nearly the very end of the book she noticed something odd, a page that had been torn out of the book, leaving nothing but a thin, frayed line between two pages. She looked for a moment, wondering why her father would tear out a page when the book had been his, and wondered if it had bee him to do it. It didn't make sense to her why he would rip out a page with valuable information she could use in his favor, unless he wanted to hide something. She quickly dismissed the thought, trying not to let curiosity get the better of her before scanning the last few pages and setting the book back at the bottom of her suitcase. She cleaned up the mess of clothes with a flick of her wand and tried to get some sleep, though it never did come to her as the hours passed on by, her mind too busy to rest for even a moment.

_**A/N: Haven't written in over a year, so scroll down and hit that review button and make me remember why I bother in the first place, or tell me I suck, whichever you want. (: I'd be much appreciative!**_


	6. Love is Blind

**Chapter 20: Love is Blind**

They walked through the streets of Diagon Alley, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley having already gone off to go and find a few things, leaving Rayna alone with her three friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Though they hadn't brought up last nights events at all throughout the day, she could notice a few changes in the way they treated her; they were slightly distant, not talking as openly, and they were constantly looking at her, as if they were just waiting for her to mess up and say or do something stupid. This frustrated her, but she knew she had to be on edge to gain their trust back, constantly monitoring what she said and how she looked, she even kept tabs on her facial expressions to make sure she looked both interested and concerned with what they had to say.

"Come on guys," Harry said, looking into a small shop filled with various parchments and quills, "I need to get some new parchment."

"I actually have to go check something really quick," Rayna said suddenly, continuing with a smile, "I'll be back soon I promise!"

"Alright Ray," Hermione replied nicely, the other two nodding their heads before they headed into the shop.

Rayna sighed in relief, heading off briskly through the narrow street filled with happy looking witches and wizards bustling about busily. She walked and walked until she finally found the alleyway she had been looking for; Knockturn Alley. It was so much different that the main street, having less than a third as much people and covered in dark, dreary looking old buildings and sketchy looking people cluttered about the place, some in small groups and others by themselves, all seeming distant and unfriendly. As she walked slowly and with purpose she noticed several people crane their heads at her curiously, though none of them smiled and none of them made an attempt to say anything. She pulled her hood up, letting it cover almost half of her face to try and divert their attention elsewhere. As she walked by a dirty, middle aged man with jet black hair and almost black, dark-brown eyes, he turned and nodded at her, giving her a creepy-looking half smile as she strode away from him. She was beginning to think her journey held no point when she stopped in front of an old store with big glass windows and a bunch off odd looking items in its windows. The sign said, "Borgin and Burkes."

She remembered being there once before, on her first trip to Diagon Alley during her first year at Hogwarts. It was the first time she met Dumbledore when he took away from the Orphanage she had once called home. He had wondered off with Harry to Gringotts, and though she had been instructed to head to Olivander's wand shop, she let curiosity get the better of her and wandered down the same sketchy alleyway she found herself in now, toward the same shop. Borgin had seemed surprised to see her at the time, and if it hadn't been for Lucius Malfoy bringing her back to the main street, she probably would have never found her way back.

Rayna pushed through the doors and walked inside, but there was no one in sight. She trailed through the narrow shelves, letting her fingers graze the outlandish and dark assortment of items as she observed them all carefully. They both intrigued and amused her, making her wonder what kind of people would buy such strange things, though she already knew the answer and would likely purchase several of the items herself. She let out a brief laugh, one that was higher pitched and colder than she remembered it being, which made her shiver as she thought about her father, and why she had gone there in the first place. She crouched down to look at a small silver ring, with a tag that read, _"Do not touch, contains a curse said to deliver a slow, painful death to those who wear it. 5 Galleons."_

Rayna was about to grab the small velvet box it was in, but jumped backwards when a thin, almost five foot long black and grey snake peeked it's head out from behind the shelves, staring at her as it tilted it's tiny head. The box was thrown across the room, flying out of the small black box and across the floor just inches away from where she sat. Rayna inwardly cursed herself and inched forward to the snake, holding out her hand as it slithered slowly onto her hand and up her arm, its head traveling just inches away from her ear.

"_Hello there," _Rayna said curiously, _"what's your name?"_

"_I don't have a name," _the snake hissed slowly, letting his small, forked tongue tickle her ear, _"You remind me of someone I once met here, many years ago."_

"_Who?" _Rayna asked curiously, wondering who else could have possibly spoken to the snake.

"_He called himself Tom," _it replied, _"Tom Riddle."_

"_I'm Rayna Riddle,"_ she said, _"You're talking about my father. His name isn't Tom anymore."_

"_I know,"_ it hissed, _"he doesn't look like you anymore either, except his smile, you have his smile, and the same look in your eyes."_

"_How about I give you a name," _she asked, _"you can come with me."_

"_What do you wish to call me?"_

"_Well,"_ Rayna said slowly, pausing for a moment to think, _"I've always liked the name Basil. Like basilisk."_

"_Basil it is." _The snake replied simply.

"If you found that in my shop," someone said in a rude, raspy voice behind her, "I expect you to pay for it."

The snake hissed just as Rayna began to say, "But sir," informing her she didn't have any money as she got up and turned around. The man, an old, tired looking dirty fellow jumped back, clearly shocked by the thin snake's hostility toward him when it had been so friendly to Rayna just moments before. He looked at the small silver ring on the floor and scoffed, clearly unhappy that he had to somehow pick up the cursed object.

"Why I outta," the man she assumed to be Mr. Borgin began angrily before he was cut off.

"Mr. Borgin," a haughty, silky voice behind him began to drawl slowly, "I assume you and Miss Riddle haven't met yet. As for the snake, I can pay for it."

Rayna looked over to see Lucius Malfoy, with Draco standing confidently beside him walk carefully into the shop, an amused look in his eye as he stared over at Rayna with a small, knowing smirk. Lucius pulled out a dark wooden wand with a silver snake head attached to the end out of the long cane he carried and pointed it over at the ring and muttered a short incantation, lifting it up and setting it back down into the small black box it belonged in. Rayna shot him a short, thankful glance.

"Miss Riddle," Borgin stammered, his worried and apologetic demeanor suddenly changing, confusing her greatly, "I'm so sorry, keep the snake, free of charge of course."

"Thank you sir," Rayna replied coldly, lifting her hand to pet the snake softly on its scaly head.

"Mr. Malfoy," she began slowly, "fancy meeting you here."

"I could say the same thing," Malfoy replied curiously, "I trust you've heard about your living arrangements?"

"As a matter of fact I have," Rayna said simply, watching Lucius as a small, mocking smirk stretched across his face, "gave Arthur a bit of a scare this Christmas when I found out, afraid I'd have to put him back in Saint Mungo's."

"He was that disappointed?"

"Actually," he said coldly, "I was that disappointed."

Lucius' smile broadened, and Draco let out a slight laugh before Lucius hit him in his knee with his cane. Rayna smiled back, her grin twisted and looked nothing short of disturbing to the people around her.

"Still don't like the arrangement I see?"

"On the contrary," Rayna replied with a bored tone, watching as Lucius' eyes darted briefly to the familiar serpent necklace just below her face, "I'm quite looking forward to it."

"Good to hear," Lucius drawled with a smirk.

"As a matter of fact things have changed," she added, "I've come to understand where my loyalties lie."

"Even better," he replied in understanding with a nod of his head, "I was beginning to worry you'd never come around."

"Sometimes it takes a push in the right direction."

Lucius laughed and Draco stared back at her uneasily, forcing a composed and hard expression as he observed the conversation. Rayna looked over to see a large, black metal cabinet with a triangular build and grew curious. She reached over to touch it before turning to face Mr. Borgin again.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

"That's a vanishing cabinet." He replied, "All one has to do is step inside and their transported to its twin. Great for getting out of sticky situations. A little temperamental though, can be tricky to work with."

"Where's its twin?" Rayna asked.

"That one's twin is in Hogwarts." Borgin replied.

"Interesting…" Rayna said simply, pausing for a moment before remembering what she was there for in the first place.

"Sir," she began coldly, "do you have any copies of The Darkest Forms of Magic?"

"Actually," Borgin replied, "someone came in and bought the only two of them a few weeks ago."

Rayna paused and pondered that, deciding at once that the missing page wasn't there by accident and her father was trying to hide something dark from her, though she didn't understand why. In front of her Lucius looked surprised, like the question had caught him off guard somehow, but she dismissed the fact and nodded at Borgin, seemingly satisfied with his answer although she was still somewhat disappointed.

"I suspect that if we don't leave soon you'll miss your train," Lucius said suddenly, "I suspect your _friends_ are already headed that way. Not that I wouldn't love to sit and chat."

"Of course," Rayna said, inwardly hitting herself on the head for losing track of time and not returning to the others, Molly and Arthur must be worried.

With that they walked out the door and through the streets, hoods pulled up and brisk movements until they reached the main stretch. Draco trailed beside her, a wide mocking grin plastered arrogantly across his face. When they reached the train station they stood in front of the sign to platform nine and three quarters, but when Draco walked quickly through, Lucius stuck his hand out to grab her shoulder and prevent her from following suit. Rayna looked back at him with a glare she couldn't help but give, hating that he was stopping her when the train was about to leave.

"Sorry," Lucius drawled, holding out a nearly perfect looking sealed parchment before she grabbed it into her hands and stuffed it in her robes, "but your father instructed me to give this to you."

"Right." Rayna replied simply, walking through the brick barrier swiftly.

When she got to the bustling station she was pleased to see the train still there, several people still bustling about hastily. She walked over to where she saw Arthur and Molly looking around frantically in search for her, they quickly perked up when they saw her, Molly pulling her into a tight embrace that she found incredibly hard to return with emotion. Arthur seemed relieved as well, though he kept his distance as she expected. She would make a mental note to write to him and apologize, tying up one more lose end she had caused.

"Oh hunny we were so worried," Molly began eagerly, "thought you wouldn't make it."

Rayna was about to reply when Molly cut her off, "Go hurry up and get on the train before it leaves without you, I'll be sure to write just hurry up!"

Rayna nodded in understanding, shooting her a thankful glance, silently thankful she didn't have to explain herself right away. She ran over to the train, quickly jumping into one of the doors with a few moments to spare. Nearly every compartment was full, not that anyone would be pleased to sit by her anyway, but just as she was about to go and find the golden trio she was pulled into a compartment, sliding clumsily into an empty bench before grabbing her wand instinctively in defense. She glared and looked up to see Draco with a wide grin on his face and immediately noticed they were the only two people in the compartment.

"You know," Rayna said coldly, "I can still hex you. I'm not afraid to perform an unforgivable around witnesses, illegal or not."

"Look who's all confident now that she's not parading around with the Gryffindors." He replied arrogantly.

"Confident and dangerous," Rayna shot back, "and not afraid to kill."

"Calm down Riddle," he drawled, "I just wanted to welcome you in advance into my home."

"Your home?" she replied sardonically, "What do you possibly think you own that mommy and daddy didn't buy for you?"

"Is someone jealous?" Draco replied rudely, "I can't help but think you're jealous of Pansy too, after that little spat you two got into the first night."

"In your dreams kid," she replied, her lips forming a tight line, "I have standards."

"I can tell by the mudblood and blood traitors you surround yourself with." Draco replied, "Or do you even care about them anymore?"

"Piss off," she shot back, "don't attempt to get things you don't understand."

"You think I don't understand?" Draco replied with an unexpected hint of emotion, his features softening as he looked back at her, "in case you haven't noticed, my parents aren't saints either. And I was brought up into it."

Rayna didn't say anything, her hard glare turning to a slight half smile before she replied, "I guess we're both trying to live up to the same expectations then."

Draco was about to say something when Pansy shot through the door, making it slide with a loud, obvious thud as she held her wand firmly in front of her toward Rayna. She looked over at Draco with wide, puppy eyes in sheer adoration before turning back to Rayna with a glare. Rayna laughed shortly, standing up and brushing herself off before grabbing her own wand and poking it lazily against the jealous girl's cheek. Pansy looked shocked, as though she hadn't expected her to do anything but stay still and cower, which, after their last incident, seemed pretty ridiculous.

"If you want to play games," Rayna said icily, making the hairs on the back of Pansy's neck stand straight, though the girl wouldn't admit it, "I can play games."

"I should hex you right here," Pansy yelled in a desperate, shrill tone.

"Go ahead," Rayna replied, "But I've got a better idea."

Rayna smirked wickedly, looking into the girl's glaring brown eyes. She looked confused, but she was sure to clear up any confusion by quickly adding, "The forbidden forest. Right after the feast. Bring your wand and some tissues, because I'm going to make your sorry ass wish you were never born."

"You're on Riddle," Pansy shot back, "you're never going to talk to my Draco again."

"Wonderful," Rayna replied coldly.

Rayna lowered her wand, shoving rudely past Pansy as she walked out the door of the compartment and down the narrow hallway of the train to look for her friends. She looked into several of the Gryffindor compartments but didn't find them until she got to the very end, almost thinking they hadn't made the train back to the school on her account. She was quickly reassured, however, when Harry yelled her name just as she was about to walk past their compartment, causing her to stop unexpectedly, looking over to the glass window of the compartment with a forced, friendly smile. She quickly rushed in, taking a seat next to Harry.

"Sorry!" Rayna said eagerly, "Ran into Lucius at the bookstore and got caught up, almost missed the train because he wouldn't stop harassing me about my change of living arrangements."

"That stuck up git," Ron replied angrily, "when the ministry finds out what he's planning they'll send you right back."

"I wish that were true," Rayna said reluctantly, "the ministry doesn't seem to think that's a problem."

"What did he say to you?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He just asked if Mr. Weasley had mentioned the news yet," she replied, "then he asked if I planned on fighting it any more. I just told him until the day I die."

"He can't force you to become one of them," Hermione added, "and you'll always have us. I'm just worried something could happen to you. What if they bring you to Voldemort?"

"I'm not worried about that," Rayna replied, "with the ministry still in denial about his return Malfoy won't be able to risk it. He's still hiding, hopefully even from me."

"But you've seem him in your dreams," Ron added, though Rayna secretly cursed at the red-headed idiot, "how can you be so sure?"

"Because that's just it," she confirmed, "he only comes in my dreams. Anything else would be too risky, for now anyway. Hopefully by the time I have to worry about that I'll be in a different house."

"You said you would give us all the details," Hermione interjected, "about the dreams and about Voldemort."

"Of course," Rayna said simply, "though there isn't much to add. They're all at the Hall of Prophesy; he acts as a voice inside my head, always telling me to question who I surround myself with and where my loyalties lie. Sometimes it gets to me, makes me angry and do things I don't mean to do, like he's getting inside my head and causing me to do it himself. It really gets to me, sometimes I think maybe he's right, but in the end I know who to trust and who not to."

Rayna gave a small smile, though Ron didn't seem convinced Harry and Hermione seemed like they bought it, smiling back in understanding. Harry muttered something about having the same problem, but Rayna doubted he could understand; he didn't have conversations with the Dark Lord, he just saw visions and heard small sentences, he couldn't understand. He killed his parents and was out to get him, to Rayna he was her only parent, the only part of her family that was left. To her he was her salvation, the person that would give her purpose and a place in this world, one she didn't intend to give up. Beneath her robes she could feel Basil slither up to her wrist, though she was quick to grab him and hold him in place, hoping he would get the memo and not show his head, out of fear that her friends would see. If they saw it would raise a mass amount of suspicion, not to mention, snakes weren't allowed as familiars in Hogwarts.

"Back in our second year you destroyed Tom Riddle's diary," Rayna asked suddenly, looking over at Harry, "how did you do that?"

"With a basilisk fang," Harry replied slowly, "why did you want to know?"

"Well," Rayna began, unsure of whether or not she should give them any ideas, "I've been thinking about it, and maybe that's the key… maybe there are other ways he can come back, like that one."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"Other things he's created to ensure he can return," she added, "maybe there are more of them out there."

"That's interesting…" Hermione replied.

Rayna could have slapped herself in the head, though she was certain that even if there were, they would never be able to get their hands on them, she was sure her father was sure of that. She could have gotten more information out of a brick, though she was glad they might trust her more now that she had actually given them a helpful thought that would make it seem like she still cared. Rayna rested her head against the glass window, realizing how dead tired she was from not getting any sleep the previous night, how could she, she had killed four people for the first time in her life and tortured one to insanity before doing it. She wondered if she would ever get any sleep again, but before she knew it she was out like a light, the world going black and engulfing her in a peaceful sleep.

The ride back to Hogwarts was a short one, and as Rayna slowly woke up from Hermione shaking her, repeating that it was time to get off nearly a thousand times, she was disappointed she hadn't dreamt of her father. Quickly brushing the thought out of her head she hopped off the train, eager to get the feast over with and combat Pansy in the forbidden forest. She smirked at the fact, eager to try out some new curses from the book her father had given her, and Pansy seemed like a great candidate to witness her new found knowledge. They all piled into the great hall, bustling about trying to find seats with their houses and eagerly finding friends they hadn't seen since before the break. Rayna could have laughed at the fact, knowing she didn't have any real friends in Hogwarts anymore, unless she could somehow consider Draco a friend.

"Evening Pansy," Rayna said rudely, looking over at the girl as she clung on to the boy she would soon go through hell for, "I hope you're excited for our little duel."

"I'm excited to show you how real magic is done," Pansy spat back, earning a few laughs from the other Slytherin's.

"Glad to hear," Rayna replied with a smile.

She sat down across from her, earning a multitude of confused and disinterested looks as she did so. Though she just sat there with a wide smile, mocking the girl without saying a word. A few people shot her rude remarks, telling her to either leave or go bother someone else, but Rayna didn't make any attempt to move, grabbing a bright red apple from the plate across from her and taking a huge bite, chewing loudly as she stared back at Pansy with an emotionless, bone-chilling glance.

"He's not going anywhere you know." Rayna said simply.

"Excuse me?" Pansy asked rudely.

"Draco," she replied, "you don't need to cling on for dear life."

Beside her Crabbe laughed, though he was cut short with one look from Pansy. Rayna laughed, getting up and walking slowly out of the great hall already bored of her classmates. She walked through the doors, wandering around the dark and deserted halls with one goal in her mind: make Pansy pay for insulting her. She walked up the corridors and onto the third level, on her way to the girls bathroom where the Chamber of Secrets was opened just three years before. She walked over to the sink, her hand tracing the small, light gray stone serpent that was carved into the sink as she felt Basil slither out of her robes and up to her neck.

"_You don't have to hide here,"_ Rayna hissed, earning a small kiss with her familiar's tongue that caused her to giggle.

"What are you doing in here?" she heard a high, irritating voice say, "You look familiar, like someone I went to school with."

"Oh great," Rayna replied, "It's you."

"That's all anyone ever says," the ghost of moaning Myrtle said sadly, a slight sob in her voice, "great it's Myrtle, why Myrtle, poor, sad, lonely moaning Myrtle."

"If you weren't such an annoying, self-loathing, sad little girl," Rayna shot back, "no one would have a problem with you."

Myrtle sobbed, flying headfirst across the room and into an open toilet, leaving in her wake a gigantic splash of dirty water to flood all over the floor of the bathroom, making Rayna scoff and leave the room. She walked through the halls, realizing that the feast would be over in just a few minutes and wanting to get a head start into the forest before Pansy and whoever she stupidly brought with her could get there. She walked out a nearly hidden, small door on the side of one of the halls and made her way across the grounds under cover of the night, striding with confidence and enthusiasm as she reached the forests edge. She looked at the trees, dark and foreboding as though daring anyone to set foot inside the eerie stretch of brush. Anything in there she felt she could easily combat, Pansy on the other hand, she doubted could even fend off a spider. She sat down on a tree trunk that had fallen over, letting Basil slither smoothly up her arm as she stroked his thin, scaly body with two fingers, looking down at the animal with an adoration she rarely showed anyone.

A few moments passed when she heard several loud voices and footsteps getting closer and closer, and before she knew it Pansy and a few others loomed into view. Behind her trailed Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Daphne Greengrasse, her small crew of Slytherin's, clearly waiting to see Rayna get herself beaten to a pulp. Rayna smiled, confidence washing over her, Pansy didn't know what she was capable of- of what she's done and who she's in league with. She should have known better not to mess with the daughter of the greatest dark wizard of all time, but she let arrogance get the better of her and she would soon pay for it.

"Hey Riddle," Pansy shouted, "didn't think you'd show up!"

"And pass up the chance to make you suffer?"

"Maybe if you apologize and promise to never even look at my Draco again," she shot back, "I'll go easy on you."

Rayna laughed, standing up and grabbing her wand as she lurked her way down into the forest to an open clearing, the fog and mist making it look as though a cloud had fallen and engulfed the forest, Pansy was beginning to look uneasy with her surroundings, though her wand was drawn firmly in front of her. Rayna turned to face her, a long, crooked smile across her lips as she watched her glare and stand her ground.

"Well?" Rayna asked, boredom lacing her voice, "going to show me how it's done?"

"Furnuculo…"

"Crucio!" Rayna screamed before she had the chance to finish, making Pansy drop her wand and hit the ground with a loud thud, screaming in agony.

Crabbe and Goyle backed up away from the thrashing girl, shocked and frightened looks plastered across their faces as they watched in terror, unable to comprehend what was happening. Even Draco looked surprised as he watched his girlfriend scream and cry, tears now streaming down her bucking face as she squirmed across the forest floor. Rayna didn't let up, smiling wickedly as she watched her slow to a slight twitch, unable to continue moving when the pain became too great to bear. She lifted the curse, somewhat reluctantly before walking over to the crying girl, though Pansy just scooted away in terror, wanting more than anything to get back to the castle and away from the girl who had caused her so much agony.

"Good job Pansy," Rayna mocked, "really showed me."

Pansy sobbed some more, picking herself up off the ground and running across the forest, though Rayna was quick to whip her wand and leave the girl, once again, thrashing across the dirt battling the torture curse. This time Rayna didn't let up, letting Pansy thrash and scream for a painful 3 full minutes; she begged and pleaded, but Rayna wouldn't listen, relishing in the power and control she held over the girl. The other four stood as though their feet were cemented to the ground, Daphne sobbed for Rayna to stop, but she didn't until Pansy was on the brink of death with little life or will to live left in her, grabbing desperately at a tree root to pull herself, in vain, away from the Dark Lord's daughter. Rayna laughed a high, cold laugh that echoed through the minds of everyone around her, one that they were all sure to never forget. She once again walked over to the girl, who no longer had the strength to even attempt to move, kneeling down beside her gently.

"Oh Pansy," Rayna began softly, brushing a tuft of hair behind the sobbing girl's cheek, "you played with fire, and you got burnt. You will never beat me, how could you? I know things Pansy, things you couldn't even dream of, and if you think that next time I'll stop with torturing you, your dead wrong."

"I'm sorry," Pansy stuttered, fear filling her tear-stricken eye sockets, "I'm so sorry."

"And you won't say anything about this," Rayna demanded, "or I will make sure that sentence is your last."

"No," Pansy stammered, "I won't! I won't say a thing! Just stop, please."

Rayna smirked as she let Basil slither smoothly down her arm and onto the forest floor. He arched his back, his head high in the air as he hissed at the now screaming girl who lifted her arms over her face, inching away with every bit of strength she had left.

"_Basil," _Rayna hissed, _"Kill!"_

Pansy screamed as the snake struck her, his fangs sinking deeply into the flesh of her shoulder. She fought to get the snake off but as soon as he let go he struck her again in the arm, earning another shrill, ear shattering wail of desperation. Rayna laughed before adding, "Just kidding." She picked up basil and looked down at the girl.

"I'm done with you," she replied with disinterest, "your beginning to bore me."

Rayna got up and turned around, telling the others that the same goes for them, though they just nodded, not bothering to reply and they followed her out of the forest, too scared to help Pansy out of fear of Rayna and of the consequences if they brought her inside. So that night Pansy was left in the middle of the forbidden forest, scared and alone, now terrified of the usually quiet, emotionless young girl that had driven her near the point of death. No one would help her until morning, and no one would console her about the night's events, she couldn't talk to anyone and she couldn't get any sympathy. Rayna had tortured her, committed an illegal act and gotten away with it. No justice would be served and no one would care, and with that Pansy blacked out, tired and beaten down, a victim of her own doing.

Rayna walked back to the castle with a feeling of intense satisfaction, knowing her father would be proud of the hollow shell of a human being she had forced Pansy to become in a matter of minutes. She was finally getting it, letting the dark magic become a part of who she was. She could feel herself reaching a new level of cold, embracing the fall with open, eager arms as she became what she once swore not to. She finally understood, and she finally found her place. The Slytherin's would have to respect her and no one would ever mess with her again. That night she finally got some sleep, a satisfied, well-earned night of sleep.

_**A/N: Well…. Tell me what you think? Encourage me to write more. Getting back into this story has been loads of fun and a big thanks to NightShadeKiller and the guest who reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate it! So what do you think will happen, will Rayna drift further into darkness of will the light get her back? Personally, I love death eaters and Voldemort is the shit, maybe they deserve to win for once. But who knows, I just want to write a good story. Hit that REVIEW button, you know you want to!**_

_**-Hanson**_


	7. A Close Call

**Chapter 7: A Close Call**

"You take remedial potions?" asked Zacharias Smith when Harry had told him that there would be no DA meeting that night on account of their private occlumency lessons with Snape, "Good Lord, you must be terrible, Snape doesn't usually give extra lessons, does he?"

Though Rayna was less than excited to learn how to shield her mind from her father, who she was more than glad to allow into her mind, she agreed reluctantly to learn, deciding that it would only aid their trust in her if she agreed to put some effort in. Not to mention, it was hard for her to pass up an opportunity to learn a new form of magic. She stared back at the Ravenclaw boy with a prominent glare of distaste that made him noticeably uncomfortable.

"Arrogance doesn't look good on you _Smith_," Rayna said coldly, smirking at him while he strode away in an annoyingly buoyant fashion, Ron glaring at him as he left.

"Shall I jinx him? I can still get him from here," he said, raising his wand and aiming it between Smith's shoulder blades.

"I dare you," Rayna replied calmly, egging him on.

"Forget it," said Harry dismally, "It's what everyone is going to think, isn't it? That I'm really stup—"

"Hi, Harry," said a voice behind them. He turned around and found Cho standing there.

"Oh," said Harry, "Hi."

"Oh great," Rayna drawled, "Fancy seeing you here Cho."

"I wasn't talking to you Riddle." Cho snapped.

"Calm down," Rayna mocked, "I was just about to leave. Better things to do, people to harass, curses to practice on unsuspecting Ravenclaws who don't know their place."

"We'll be in the library, Harry," said Hermione firmly, grabbing Rayna by the arm and giving Ron a look that said, "I dare you not to follow me."

Harry looked at Rayna uneasily, clearly not amused by what she had to say, and she inwardly cursed herself for letting her anger get the better of her. When they got out of Harry and Cho's line of sight Hermione hit her on the arm, hard, prompting Rayna to give a loud, displeased groan while her friend spun around to face her.

"That really wasn't nice," Hermione blurted, "you know Harry has a thing for her, you could at least pretend to be friendly."

"What can I say," Rayna said in defense, "I don't play well with others."

"Well you had better learn, because I finally got the DA to agree to let you join, and you can't mess that up."

"Okay, okay," Rayna defended, "I'll play nice!"

"Shocked they agreed too," Ron added rudely, "did you hear about what happened to Pansy Parkinson? Everyone's convinced you did it, apparently she was attacked by some animal out in the forbidden forest, they found her this morning. Couldn't even speak a full sentence, I bet she'll be in the hospital wing for a month."

"We can only hope," Rayna said under her breath.

"What was that?" Hermione asked as they approached the library doors and walked inside.

"She was a real bitch," she lied, "but I do feel bad for her. That couldn't have been a good time."

"I think she had it coming," Ron said bluntly, "the beginning of the year she called Hermione a mudblood, I almost wailed her in the face."

"Maybe you should've," Rayna added, "guess karma came back to bite her in the ass for you."

"You didn't do it did you?" Hermione asked suddenly, though her tone was still friendly suspicion laced her voice.

"Of course not," she defended, "I'm just grateful that whatever did, did a good job. I won't have to deal with her until she's out of the hospital wing and to be honest I'm getting really sick of her comments."

"I still think you two should just talk it out," Hermione replied, "whatever problem you have with each other can't be that bad."

"It's hard to talk something out when someone can't even complete a coherent sentence."

"You know what I mean," she replied.

"I'm sure she'd love to," Ron added, "but animal attack or not, all the girl ever does is harass people and make puppy eyes at Draco like he's some sort of god."

Rayna laughed along with Ron, though Hermione was still standing there looking like she was going to strangle the pair of them. It wasn't long before they made it to the library, Madame Pince looking strictly at Rayna with every movement she made as though she was glaring a massive hole right through the girls head. They sat down at a small table near the back and only a few feet away from them, a tall, brown haired Slytherin girl looked awkwardly at Rayna and walked quickly away to the other side of the massive room, though her pace seemed more like a jog to them.

"What was that about?" Ron asked curiously as he eyed the distraught girl.

Rayna shrugged her shoulders, "Guess she heard about Pansy."

"I really don't get why people still think you're some murderous death eater or something," Ron added, taking a smashed looking chocolate frog out of his robes and chowing down, food seeming to fly out of his mouth as he spoke loudly, "it's like they think you're you-know-who himself."

"Thanks Ron," Rayna replied coldly, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits.

"Sorry," Ron said, though she wasn't convinced.

"Don't worry about it," she said, dismissing it, though she couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment toward the boy who had always second guessed her when he was supposed to be her friend, though that no longer mattered.

"Oh shit," Rayna said suddenly, looking over at the clock, "I'm going to be late."

Before the others could say anything she was out of the library, walking briskly down the castles massive corridors and down toward Snape's office. She walked inside without a second thought after knocking loudly on the door, suddenly excited to be learning a new form of magic from her head of house, though she knew Harry hated the brooding potions master and was less than eager to begin the lessons. She looked around at the shadowy room, lined with shelves of hundreds of odd glass jars with questionable looking contents. In a corner stood a cupboard of ingredients and on the other end of the room, Dumbledore's pensieve, which she found odd being there.

"You're early Riddle," Snape's cold voice began as he came out of the corner.

"Better early than late," Rayna replied calmly, referring to Harry, who hadn't yet arrived.

"If you take after your _parents_ at all," Snape drawled, "then you should have no trouble picking occlumency up and you'll find that being early isn't necessary."

"We'll see then, but I haven't had to try it yet, so I do hope that I don't disappoint you."

Snape stared at her with hard, cold eyes, though she returned his look with one that lacked expression and gave away nothing. Snape's eyes narrowed into tiny slits, as though he were sizing her up and attempting to read her, though she just sat there, stoic and expressionless, eager to learn and prove him correct. Just then they heard a low knock at the door, followed by Harry, who looked around the room like a deer in the headlights.

"Shut the door behind you, Potter." Snape said harshly, turning to look at the boy who looked as though he was being imprisoned within the room.

Harry walked over to where they were standing, as Snape stared back at him he pointed to one of the two chairs opposite his desk, and Harry walked down, Rayna doing the same, before Snape sat down himself, looking at the two of them carefully, though when he looked over at Harry, his expression increased in dislike, aversion etched deep into his face.

"You know why you are here," he said, "The headmaster has asked me to teach you occlumency. I can only hope that you prove more adept at it than potions."

Rayna had to stifle a short, cold laugh, knowing how poorly Harry had been at the art and she thought of all the times she had to help him out, even when brewing the simplest concoctions. Snape had always got on her about it, insisting the boy was to do it himself, failure or not, though that never did stop her from giving him tips. She earned a short lived flash of what she thought was amusement from Snape, and a not-so-amused glance from Harry, who she returned with an apologetic look and a small, seemingly genuine smile.

"Now, occlumency, as I told you back in your dear godfather's kitchen, this branch of magic seals the mind against magical intrusion and influence."

"And why does Dumbledore think we need it, sir?" said Harry, looking directly into Snape's dark, cold eyes and wondering whether he would answer.

Snape looked back at him, "Surely even you could have worked that out on your own by now, Potter? The Dark Lord is highly skilled at legilimency-"

"What's that? Sir?"

"It's the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind-"

"He can read minds?" said Harry quickly, his worst fears confirmed.

"You have no subtlety, Potter," said Snape, his dark eyes glittering.

"You do not understand fine distinctions. It is one of the shortcomings that makes you such a lamentable potion-maker."

"Only muggles talk about mind-reading Harry," Rayna said calmly, "the mind isn't like that. It's not a book you can just write feelings in and they stay there forever. Usually legilimency requires eye-contact, but we seem to be different and that doesn't apply to us. That's why we have to learn, because all the protection Hogwarts has to offer does us no good."

Snape stared back at her coldly, nodding shortly before turning to Harry, "The evidence suggests that at times, when your mind is most vulnerable – when you are asleep, for instance- you are sharing the Dark Lord's thoughts and emotions. The headmaster thinks it inadvisable for this to continue. He wishes me to teach you how to close your mind to the Dark Lord."

"But why does Dumbledore want to stop it?" Harry asked as Rayna buried her face in her hands, clearly bored and wanting the questions and pointless conversation to end; she got it, why didn't he?

Rayna grew bored as Harry continued to press Snape with a string of questions, the professor clearly getting even more disinterested and resentful as he answered him, his patience growing shorter and shorter until they finally had moved on. She watched as Snape took out his wand and walked over to the pensieve, pressing the tip of it into his head against his greasy, black hair and pulling out of it what looked like a shiny, silvery liquid. Rayna suddenly grew tense, thinking back to all of her memories and the things she had done which needed, undoubtedly, to be kept hidden from anyone and anything to do with the Order and the people she had worked so hard to deceive. She realized at once that if she didn't succeed in the art it would ruin her and he would break into her mind, revealing all of the horrible atrocities she had committed in her father's name. Her lips stretched into a thin line and she braced herself, wishing more than ever that she had thought about this ahead of time and practiced herself, though she knew it may have gotten her nowhere without proper instruction.

"Stand up and take out your wands."

Rayna grabbed her wand, though she didn't think she'd be needing it, the branch of magic relying only on one's ability to block their mind within themselves. Harry looked more nervous than she did as Snape took out his own wand and held it firmly, pointing it straight at them with unwavering hostility which she assumed was more directed at the boy standing next to her. She racked her mind for anything that could help her out, any spell or incantation, anything she might have learned throughout her time at Hogwarts that could be useful, though she could think of nothing.

"You may use your wands to attempt to disarm me, or defend yourself in any other way you can think of," said Snape.

"And what are you going to do?" Harry asked beside her.

"I am about to attempt to break into your mind," said Snape softly, "brace yourself, now… legilimens!"

She watched as Snape stuck Harry before he was ready, his body growing confused and his eyes going blank as though he wasn't entirely there. Though she was thankful she hadn't been first, she couldn't help but fear of what was to come and how difficult it would be with little idea of what to do. As Harry stumbled to the ground she saw Snape break the spell and rub his wrist, a slight, barely audible gasp coming from his lips. She thought back to the page in the book her father had mailed her and remembered that it contained a method to use legilimens to torture the minds of those you attempt to use it on. She vaguely remembered it, but she knew that if anything, there was value in dark magic and it would somehow be her relief from the situation. She only hoped that Snape didn't know what she was doing, and honestly, that seemed pretty far-fetched at this point, knowing he was once a death eater and no stranger to the dark magic she was hoping to use on him.

"Did you mean to produce a stinging hex?" she heard Snape ask coldly.

"No," said Harry bitterly, getting up from the floor.

"I thought not," said Snape, watching him closely, "You let me get in too far. You lost control."

Rayna droned them out, pondering her options in her head before looking over to see Snape now standing to face her, his wand stretched firmly in front of him. Rayna tried to empty her mind of all thoughts, drifting into the void ever so slightly before she heard Snape bellow, "legilimens!"

The spell hit her full force, though it didn't immediately work. She forced up a shield, trying desperately to keep the professor out of her thoughts with everything she had, she could feel herself slipping, the barrier becoming blurred and weak as she fell to the floor, her vision blurring as she tried to push him out. The seconds ticked by, and just as she thought it was working she felt herself lose control and was engulfed in a play by play of her own memories and emotions, all confirming her worst fears, Snape had broken her barrier.

She watched as a blurred scene came into view, where she had been staying with the Weasleys. She had just arrived and Molly was staring into her cold, bright blue eyes with a look of curiosity and reserve, as though she was some untouchable that she was letting into her home. Though she had been friends with her son for years, she glared at the woman, earning a terrified, distrusting look from her new guardian. Rayna hated her for it at the time despite gradually growing to like Mrs. Weasley. She was then thrown into the time Arthur had told her she would soon be living with the Malfoy's. Rayna watched as she yelled at her guardian and pulled out her wand as if to duel before the others ran in and she took off out the door. Soon after that, she saw herself destroy the muggle telephone pole, and right after that, she was walking up to the door of the muggle home she so desperately wanted to hide from Snape. Then she remembered Snape, he was standing right there in front of her, watching the scene. She quickly glared over at him as the memory of herself stood there as though it were contemplating something, and then Rayna pushed into his head with all of the hatred and anger she could muster, which happened to be quite a lot, before the scene faded and she was back in Snape's office, able to pull herself up off the floor and compose herself, she had won but only just.

Rayna looked over at Snape, who was now on the floor, clutching his head in his hands before standing up quickly, sweat accumulating in large beads across his forehead. She panicked, thinking of some explanation to give him but couldn't think of anything, her mind too focused on whether or not Snape had the information to know what she had been up to at the muggle home. He had seen her spat with Arthur, and that would have been enough to make her uneasy on its own.

"I want you back here at the same time Wednesday," Snape said in a soft yet harsh tone, glaring daggers at her, "as of right now you will practice shielding your mind, which I assume you'll be able to do way before Potter, without the use of dark magic, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes professor," Rayna replied thankfully, a huge wave of relief flashing through her body, "I didn't mean to, it was just my reaction Sir."

"Leave Riddle," Snape said coldly, "and I strongly advise you not to even consider that method with the Dark Lord, if you value your life at all."

She nodded, a look of unease across her usually stoic and calculating expression; it didn't suit her. She looked over at her confused friend, who was to continue his lesson alone, which he dreaded, though she was glad to be out of there. Perhaps learning the branch of highly difficult to master magic was a terrible idea to agree to after all, and this would be the end of her. She left out the door quickly, leaving both pairs of eyes still focused intently on her until she was out of view.

Rayna made her way briskly down the corridors and down toward the dungeons back to the Slytherin common room. It didn't take long before she gave the password and walked inside; the second she strode through the doors she smirked, watching as the chatter died down instantly and every pair of eyes were now fastened on her. They had undoubtedly all heard the news about Pansy Parkinson, who was admitted to the hospital wing with Madame Pomfrey just that morning. Anyone who had believed the cover story would have had to be brain dead, as Pansy had made sure all of Slytherin house was more than aware of their little duel the night before. Though Draco and the others hadn't said a word, the truth was so blatantly obvious to all other than the staff and when Daphne quickly got up and left back to her room in a rushed, terrified jog, their suspicions were easily confirmed.

Rayna gave a slight laugh, lifting her hands up in a mock defense before pulling them back down to her sides and walking slowly, but carefully across the dark room filled with lavish greens and bright silvers and up the stairs to the room she shared with Daphne and Pansy. When she got there she found Daphne already in her bed, clearly trying to give off the impression that she was asleep, though a short, breathless gasp as she walked through the door gave the girl away. Rayna welled with a sense of satisfaction at the girls fear, knowing full well that she was finally given the respect she deserved within Slytherin house. She thought about her father and how his time at Hogwarts must have went. She could only guess, but she assumed that it would have been something like this.

"I know you're awake." Rayna said coldly, looking over at the girl's still form.

"I'm just trying to get some sleep early," Daphne responded quietly but respectfully, "last night was rough and I'm very tired."

"I can imagine," she drawled back, taking out her wand and twirling it between long, boney fingers, "didn't get much sleep myself."

"I can imagine." Daphne said boldly.

Rayna laughed, having to admire the girl's attempt at being bold and deciding that she was at least somewhat more impressive than the others in her house, who all had the same quiet, distant and clearly cautious demeanor. Daphne sat up, looking over at her with tired, calculating eyes that had a slight curiosity glimmering in them, and Rayna grew interested with the girl herself.

"My parents are death eaters you know," Daphne began slowly, "if this is about your parents, I just want you to know I'm not the enemy."

"Pretty brave to bring up your parents involvement with the Dark Lord," Rayna said smoothly, "or just stupid. I'm not my father, you know."

"I know but I just thought," she began before Rayna cut her off.

"Whatever you _thought,_" She replied coldly, "you can just as soon forget. I haven't seen him since I was a small child, and we're certainly not about to make some evil dynamic duo anytime soon. My personal life is none of your business."

"Sorry," Daphne reassured, "I'm just curious that's all. You won't say anything about my parents, will you? I know you like to hang around those Gryffindors and Potter, no one can know, it would end them."

"Why would I do that?" Rayna said simply, "I have better things to do then leak information to those three."

"Great," Daphne said softly, "thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"About what happened to Pansy…" Daphne began cautiously, "she had it coming. She's been rude to you since our first year. And she's always blabbing about Draco, clinging to him like some kind of tumor."

Rayna had to smile at that one, Daphne was a Slytherin after all, and Slytherin's have never been known to be very loyal. At least in her house she knew Pansy wouldn't gain much sympathy, and no one would be stupid enough to take her side against Rayna Riddle.

"Holding in some resentment?" Rayna asked, her tone bored and disinterested, "you were always rude to me too."

"Sorry," Daphne tried desperately to cover for herself, "she's just been my friend since I got here and…"

"Don't worry about it," she cut off, "I know how things work."

"I had a fling with Draco once," Daphne began more comfortably, "third year, before he ever had any interest in Pansy. Didn't last long when she came along."

"Pity," she replied, "maybe that's why Draco is always so rude and uptight, he's had that bitch clinging on his arm for the past two years."

Daphne laughed before adding, "The Malfoy's are always uptight, whether they have to deal with a clingy love-struck girl or not. My mom always told me they all come with an invisible string attached to their chins, pulling their noses up into the air. That's pretty bad, coming from my mom."

"I wouldn't doubt that," she said, "I'm supposed to be staying with them when the year ends, I guess I'll have to practice that."

"I'm sure there's a spell for that," Daphne laughed, "god I'd love to see the look on Pansy's face when she finds out you're going to be staying with her beloved Draco."

"Maybe I'll tell her myself," Rayna replied, tucking a small piece of shiny black hair behind her ear, "though, I doubt she'll try anything now."

Daphne laughed, though there was a new level of discomfort in her tone as she thought back to last night. Rayna couldn't help but relish in the new found fear her classmates had toward her, and she highly doubted it would pass, knowing full well that every Slytherin would likely be on edge and try to stay on her good side now that they feared her. She wondered if that's what her father felt all the time, though he held the fear and forced respect of every witch and wizard in the wizarding community. Maybe someday she would too, though she knew she had a long way to go, after all, she was still playing innocent with the order.

"Do you know who your mom is?" Daphne blurted suddenly, catching Rayna off guard, "Sorry, I heard my parents talking about you right before I left for my first year here at Hogwarts. They were saying something about the ministry and how it was unfair that you weren't living with your family. Said he chose your mom for a reason and they didn't give you to the people she chose."

"Do you know who she chose?" she asked curiously, though she had no desire to explain her situation to the girl.

"The Malfoy's," Daphne replied, "I guess that's why you're about to be living with them now."

"Well," Rayna began, somewhat unwillingly, "I asked Dumbledore my second year. He said when the Dark Lord rose to power he chose one of his death eaters to conceive his child. Had his suspicions, though he wouldn't tell me, and said he couldn't know for sure, that I looked too much like my father to try and guess."

"Um," Daphne began, "I can assure you that you look nothing like him. My mom said he had bright red eyes and waxy, snake-like features and you have neither."

"He didn't always look like that," Rayna said with a smile, "good thing those traits didn't pass down or I'd have a real hard time making friends."

"Kind of messed up isn't it?" she said, "Having your mother specifically chosen to conceive. Like you were some kind of weird genetic experiment."

Rayna glared, though her expression quickly softened when she saw the regret in Daphne's face, "I like to think he didn't have the time to have a proper family, though I highly doubt he would want to even if he did."

"Sorry," Daphne said quickly, "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just weird to think about."

"It was the means to an end," she replied calmly, "it doesn't bother me."

Rayna suddenly felt the urge to try and reach her father, though she was reluctant to even try, fearing that it wouldn't work. She turned over and pulled back the covers of her lavish, silky green sheets, hopping in and pulling them around her as she set her head down in the pillow. She waited for Daphne to get dressed and lay down, turning off the lights with a flick of her wand before setting it down beneath her pillow. Rayna forced her mind clear for a few moments before concentrating on her father's voice and reaching out for some kind of contact. She wasn't sure how it would work or if it even would, but she needed to try, she needed to talk to him and get some answers. She let her mind wander to the department of mysteries, where most of their conversations within her dreams took place, though she accomplished nothing more than a vivid memory as she tried and concentrated, in vain, to reach the Dark Lord.

Deciding her efforts were hopeless after a few long, tiring hours she got up and walked down to the deserted and dark Slytherin common room after making sure that Daphne was sound asleep. She flicked her wand at the fireplace, creating a wicked blast of flames that shot almost to the ceiling before it reduced down to a small, comforting flicker of light within the tiny brick opening. Deciding it was safe and that no one was around, she took out the nearly perfect looking crème colored parchment from her robes that she had received from Lucius in Diagon Alley and flipped it over to the dark green seal that kept it shut. She quickly tore the seal and opened it up to find a letter from her father, written in small, elegant, nearly-perfect handwriting in jet-black ink. Inside the letter was another smaller piece of parchment with one frayed side as though it had come straight out of a book.

_My Child,_

_ I'm aware that you're curiosity is getting the better of you and you suspect I have something to hide. It angers me that you would doubt my intentions, but let me curb your curiosity. Inside is the missing page; several years ago I found it useful and ripped it out, fearing that carrying the book around Hogwarts would raise suspicion. You'll find that it's no big secret and you can stop inquiring about it. As for your situation at Hogwarts, lay low and don't raise any mistrust, your standing with your friends is vital if you want them to bring you along to the Department of Mysteries. It has come to my attention that you're raising some suspicion, although I trust that you will easily regain their trust and lie your way out of it if you haven't already done so. I shall see you again soon Rayna, until then, keep yourself in check and don't do anything that would cause any unnecessary problems. _

_Your Father_

Rayna set the parchment down, pausing for a moment before picking up the inside page and examining it carefully. It looked simple enough, just like any other page in the book, containing a paragraph and image about the use of legilimancy to torture someone deep within their mind. Sure, it was fascinating, but it didn't curb Rayna's curiosity to say the least. Instead it only increased her dying desire to figure out what her father was hiding, though she eventually decided that it wasn't worth the effort and she should be pleased that she had a place with him at all. She couldn't understand why he would take all the trouble to hide the page and get rid of the only copies available just to send it to her the moment she grew curious. She decided that it would be something for another day, another time, and was about to head back up to her room when she heard the soft drone of echoing footsteps growing nearer and nearer until she saw Draco walk into the common room, a shocked expression on his face when he saw her sitting there, staring back at him with a vacant expression he couldn't read.

"Fancy seeing you here," Rayna said simply, stuffing the parchment back into her robes.

"Couldn't sleep," he replied.

"Bad dreams?" she mocked, an amused tone lacing her voice.

"No," Draco replied coldly, "I just can't sleep."

"What a shame," she drawled, "need me to get you some warm milk? Or can you do that yourself?"

"Shut up Riddle." He shot back.

"Oh, feisty," she said playfully, "I was only kidding. Maybe some sleep would do you some good; you're getting a little crabby."

Draco didn't reply, walking over in confident, airy strides to sit down into a large, grey armchair several feet away from where she sat. Though he once took great amusement in mocking her, he seemed nothing short of distant and snappy with her tonight, though she assumed it had something to do with her torturing his girlfriend. Rayna had to inwardly laugh at this, deciding that he had it coming, though she hated the fact that he wasn't scared of her like the others.

"So how's Pansy?" Rayna asked slowly, looking over at him with a hard stare.

"She'll be out of the hospital wing tomorrow." Draco replied coldly, "Madame Pomfrey said she suffered some of the worst injuries she's ever seen, but she was able to help her."

"Oh good."

"Yeah," he replied, "you didn't have to leave her out there. She could have died."

"What a shame that would be," Rayna said, her voice trailing off, "no more Pansy, what a major lose to the wizarding world."

"What happened to you Riddle?" Draco shot back, "You were never like this, always trailing around Potter like some kind of saint. Now you're out torturing people and parading around like the Dark Lord himself."

"Guess I have a lot more in common with the Dark Lord than I thought."

"In case you haven't noticed," Draco responded, "you're no death eater."

"No," Rayna replied coldly, her voice rising ever so slightly, "but in case _you_ haven't noticed, I can kill like one."

Draco didn't respond, a flash of fear showing slightly across his face for a second before he took on the same cold, arrogant signature Malfoy stare. Though it was nearly unnoticeable, a broad smile stretched across Rayna's face. She laughed, standing up before slowly beginning to walk across the room as she intended to do before their little chat.

"You should know better than to mess with me, Draco," Rayna said, her voice filled with contempt as she paused to look over at him, "you might've been able to mess with me before, but things have changed since then… I'm reaching my full potential."

"I have a powerful father too, you know," he shot back, "you weren't the only one born into this. When he finds out you'll be…"

"I'll be what, Draco?" Rayna said softly, "Will I be sorry? The Dark Lord could make Lucius wet his pants with pure eye contact, so if we're gonna play that game, I'll warn you right now… You. Will. Lose."

Draco didn't reply, his face twisting into a slightly fearful grimace as he looked at her. Rayna smirked, walking up the creaky wooden steps before stopping once more, though she still had her back to him.

"And as for Parkinson," she said as she walked up, "I should have killed her last night."

Rayna sat down on her messy bed, deciding to write her father back, pulling out a piece of dark brown parchment that looked simple and cheap in comparison to the one she had received. She pulled out a quill and a bottle of dull black ink before thinking of what to say. She knew she had to stay on his good side, he wasn't the Weasley's and he wasn't the Order of the Phoenix, she had to mind herself and be cautious. She decided to drop her curiosity and do as he told her, knowing in the end it was all for the better. She quickly put quill to parchment and began to scribe away quickly under the light of the full moon that shined brilliantly through the open window of her dorm.

_Father,_

_ I am sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have questioned you. Forgive me, curiosity has always been something that has gotten the better of me at times. As for Potter and the others, I'm gaining their trust back with ease. They're gullible and put too much stock into their emotions, so winning them over is as simple as giving them a heartfelt story of how poor, defenseless and misunderstood Rayna Riddle was seduced by the dark magic her father used against her. Sometimes I wonder how Dumbledore could ever profess that love, of all things, could ever hold any power in itself. It leaves them weak and stupid, at the will of trust and emotion, and they will lose in the end, miserably and without mercy._

_-Rayna_

Rayna set the parchment down, pausing for a moment before walking over to her trunk and taking out the book her father had given her. She flipped to the ripped page and hastily removed the crumbled, torn parchment from the pocket of her robes. She set it down carefully where it was supposed to be within the book and was unconvinced when the color of the parchment contrasted ever so slightly with the color of the books pages. She sighed, knowing he hadn't been honest with her, though she decided it would be in her best interest to drop it immediately, and did as she drew back the covers and went to sleep, placing the book in a drawer of the small stand beside her bed.

_**A/N: So, I've decided on an ending to the story, and you'll all be so pleased to know Voldemort is definitely going to win. It always makes me so sad that he never wins, and I just can't put another "girl turns dark but goes back to the light," story out there. I just can't, it would make me so sad. That and I've figured out who she's gonna have a thing with, but I'm not gonna tell you, because I'm an asshole. It's definitely no one you're expecting, I promise. Anyways, I probably won't be updating much considering I have to work a 4-1AM shift every day at a shitty temp-service to pay restitution, and I've got 80 hours of community service to do or alas, I get a felony and you don't get an update for 3-5 years. So, sorry, I'll try my damn best, which is why I'm writing this at 5AM, tired as can be. **_

_**Anyways, REVIEW. Seriously, just press that review button and tell me what you think. I do care about your opinions, you know. And a big, appreciative thanks to readermind, Greengrass-Malfoy-Fanatic, sara253xxx, WildChild1296, twibe, Croonsgirl, and NightShadeKiller for reviewing chapter 6! You guys are awesome and I'm glad you enjoyed it! **_

_**NOW REVIEW! **_


	8. Burning Down Bridges

**Chapter 8: Burning Down Bridges**

When she got up Daphne had already gone down to breakfast, her bed neatly made and nothing out of place; Rayna on the other hand, quickly looked at the grandfather clock in the corner and realized she was late and breakfast would be over in less than 20 minutes. She jumped up, not bothering to make her bed or do anything with herself other than throw on her robes and hand the letter she had written to her father over to her dark grey owl, which snatched it with his beak and soared off through the open window. She sprinted down to the deserted common room and made her way hastily down to the great hall, where everyone sat chatting away, an unnerving tension throughout the room as most of its occupants sat staring at their copies of The Daily Prophet. Rayna found that odd, simply because she had never known most of the students to concern themselves with the paper, opting to listen more to gossip and too consumed with their own pitiful lives to care for the news in the outside world.

Rayna noticed immediately as she walked over to the Slytherin table that Pansy had been released from the hospital wing and was sitting alone on the far end of the table away from Draco and the others. She smirked as the girl made eye contact with her briefly, a flash of fear contorting her face before she looked quickly back down to the table in front of her, staring uneasily into her untouched plate of food. Rayna walked over in confident, wide strides and took a seat across from her, setting her head on her fist and leaning toward the disheveled girl who tried desperately not to make eye contact.

"Guess they were wrong," Rayna said coldly, "I was really beginning to believe you'd be in the hospital wing for a month."

Pansy Parkinson looked up hesitantly, staring into Rayna's glimmering, bright blue eyes, a wicked, sadistic glint twinkling in them. Rayna's mouth twisted into a sly grin, and Pansy's jaw dropped slightly as she took in Rayna's appearance. Her hair was messy, her usually perfect, shiny, jet-black curls strung awkwardly around her face; though she looked unkempt, she still held a collective, cold expression that made the girl both fearful and uneasy, especially after what transpired only a few nights prior. Rayna laughed, snatching the apple Pansy grabbed straight out of her hand before taking a large bite out of it herself and setting it back down on the table in front of her.

"Yeah," Pansy replied uneasily, her voice shaky and uncertain, "Madame Pomfrey said I was lucky, I healed up fast."

"Good," she drawled, "and I trust you didn't tell a soul about our little… disagreement?"

"Of course not," Pansy said quickly, "they suspect it, but the staff thinks it was an animal attack."

"Even better," said Rayna with a grin.

"I dumped Draco," Pansy said suddenly, tears welling up in the girl's eyes, "you won Riddle."

"Well you had better go apologize and hope he takes you back then," she said, "Parkinson."

"What?"

"Do you really think that any of this has to do with that prat?" Rayna said calmly, "My, you must be daft. As it so happens, I have no interest in your little boyfriend."

"But I…"

"Shhh," she shushed mockingly, "all you have to do is shut that bothersome mouth of yours, and stay out of my way, and we won't have any problems."

Pansy nodded as Rayna looked over to the first year sitting next to her; he was staring at them, wide-eyed and clearly listening in on every word. Rayna smirked and looked at the table in front of him to see the torn copy of The Daily Prophet and immediately realized what it was that had everyone chattering about wildly, even the staff in the front of the room. The front headline couldn't have been clearer; there had been a mass break-out from Azkaban prison the night before. Rayna's grin stretched even wider, earning a confused, frightened look from the boy beside her as she snatched the paper and read off the names of the escaped prisoners, all death eaters. Her face turned ugly and maniacal, and Pansy averted her wide, brown eyes. It wouldn't be long before she was with her father, where she knew she belonged. She got up, only moments before the feast ended, and looked over at the first year.

"See you around," she said calmly, "kid."

Rayna was about to head to her first period Defense Against the Dark Arts class when she heard a calm, friendly voice behind her.

"Excuse me Miss Riddle," Dumbledore said calmly, "if you don't mind, I'd like to have a moment of your time."

"Of course headmaster," Rayna replied politely, though she couldn't have been more displeased.

"In my office, if you will."

Rayna nodded, following the headmaster through the corridors in silence and up the brilliant, spiral staircase that lead to the headmaster's office. She stared around at the large, cluttered room, curiously analyzing every unique object throughout the room as Dumbledore sat down in his chair at his desk, beckoning her over to sit in the chair opposite of him. She sat carefully, looking him in the eyes with a calculating stare as she brushed herself off and flashed him a friendly, ingenuine smile.

"How are your lessons with professor Snape coming along?" he asked her.

"They're alright," she replied, "Occlumency is rather difficult, but he says I'm picking it up easily enough. We had a bit of a rough start, but I'm getting the hang of it."

"So I've heard," he said slowly, a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, "though I'm glad to hear. Unfortunately Harry isn't improving as rapidly as I had expected."

"Snape can be hard on him," Rayna added carefully, "he can be hard on me too. It's not easy when someone's looking into your private thoughts."

"All a necessity of the practice, I have no doubt it will help you out in the long run or I wouldn't have suggested it."

"Of course," she replied casually, "is that all Sir? I'm supposed to be in class right now and Umbridge isn't too fond of tardiness."

"Oh that won't be a problem," said Dumbledore politely, "and no, I'm sure you've heard that another girl in your house suffered an animal attack the other day. I can't help notice that people seem to be scared of you since then."

"They blame me," she replied coldly, "they always have. You remember my second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened and naturally, I was blamed and kept under close watch only for you to realize that I had nothing to do with it."

"Yes I remember," Dumbledore said, his voice so sickly sweet it made her stomach knot, "and I'm not blaming you now, but I fear that the dreams have gotten to you. Harry and the others have mentioned they've seen a change in you, everyone's concerned."

"Naturally, it's gotten to me. But I continue to fight it."

"They all love you Rayna," Dumbledore said, placing emphasis on the word love, though Rayna flinched ever so slightly as he said it, which wasn't left unnoticed, "you can depend on them. Friendship and love, I daresay, are something Voldemort never valued even at your age."

"Forgive me, Sir," Rayna replied, her voice on edge as she eyed him, "but I fail to understand why this is so important."

"My dear, this is possibly the most important thing there is for you to understand."

"I value friendship," she lied, "I always have. Unlike the Dark Lord, I've grown very fond of my friends over the years."

Dumbledore eyed her carefully, and she could have sworn she could read the distrust in his eyes though it was easily masked by a friendly twinkle. He paused for a moment as if in deep thought before standing up. Rayna began to stand too when he said, "Stay here, I'm afraid I forgot I asked professor Sprout to come speak with me about a new strain of mandrakes she's been required by the ministry to teach. I'll only be a moment."

Rayna sat back down, a look of confusion contorting her face as she glanced around the room, and soon he had gone. She got up quietly, walking over to a large, cluttered bookcase filled with a variety of intriguing titles and a few curious looking objects placed casually on top of the books. She ran her fingers across a short section that she deemed had been where he had put the darker books he had, eyeing them with a hungry glint in her eyes. She paused when she saw a dark, thin book labeled, "_Secrets of the Darkest Art_." She picked up the book carefully, though it barely left a space in the long line of books across the shelf, as it was so cluttered. She traced her fingers across the front cover, and before she knew it she heard footsteps leading up the stairs, prompting her to rush, book in hand, over to the chair she had been instructed to sit in. She had forgotten to put the book back, though she couldn't say she wanted to give up her find and quickly stuffed it into her robes, concealing it carefully in a large pocket on the inside.

Before she knew it Dumbledore strode into the office, a smile on his face as he told her how professor Sprout had managed to get every first year student to successfully re-pot a mandrake, though she didn't care enough to give him her undivided attention and kept thinking about the dark book she had taken. Dumbledore sat down in front of her once again and eyed her carefully, and for a second she was almost certain that he knew.

"The dreams," Rayna asked suddenly, "do you think Voldemort is aware of them?"

Dumbledore raised his hand to briefly stroke his chin, thinking, "I think he's aware of the dreams you've experienced. Harry, however, I can't be so sure. You have conversations with him I presume?"

"Yes Sir," she replied calmly.

"Harry seems to share his thoughts," he began, "as though they've somehow forged a connection the night he tried to kill him."

Rayna nodded, wanting more than anything for the conversation to be over. For once, she would have killed to be sitting in Umbridge's class, listening to an hour long lecture about how they'd never have to use any of the spells learned in the class.

"And his connection to me?"

"While Harry's was unintentional," Dumbledore replied, "I believe that Voldemort knew what he was doing when he forged a connection to you, although I'm unsure of what that might be. It may just be that you share the same blood, nothing more, but I can't be so sure."

Rayna was about to reply when she was cut off, "Well, it seems that first period is almost over! I'd hate to have you miss your second class on my account after I've already deprived you the privilege of a ministry approved lesson."

"Good bye sir," Rayna replied simply, standing up to walk out, "have a nice day."

"Thank you Rayna," he replied thoughtfully, his eyes still glazed over in deep thought.

Later that day she made her way down to the Room of Requirement, where she had been told to go for her first Dumbledore's Army meeting. Though she figured everyone there would just glare at her and make rude comments, she knew the organization was important to the golden trio and that they wouldn't be too pleased if she didn't participate when they had worked so hard at getting the others to accept her joining. She stopped at the large brick wall that concealed their meeting place and closed her eyes, thinking of her friends and the DA for a brief moment before a large, ornate door appeared in the wall in front of her. She pulled open the door, stepping inside quickly before closing it behind her with a thud. Soon enough she found herself looking at a display of beautiful, glowing blue light in the form of a rabbit that emitted brilliantly from the tip of Luna Lovegood's wand, a smile on her face as she looked dazedly at the magic she had created.

A few students eyed her curiously, and others looked at her with distaste showing blatantly on their faces, though she ignored them and decided that trying to produce a patronus charm might be fun, though she had, regrettably, never tried it before. Harry and Hermione rushed over to her, though Ron was too busy trying to get the spell to work himself, failing to produce more than a few sparks.

"Ray you made it!" Hermione squealed.

"I told you I would," she replied eagerly.

"Here sign the paper!" she beamed, handing her a crumbled, long list of signatures with a headline that said, "Dumbledore's Army."

Rayna took it, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and grabbed the quill from Hermione's hand, scrawling her name at the bottom in fancy, red letters before handing it back to her.

"I haven't had the chance to talk to you," Harry began uneasily, "about what happened with Snape."

"It was an accident." Rayna began slowly, "I didn't cast any spell, it just kind of happened. One minute he was watching my memories and the next I just remember getting so angry and wanting him out, I panicked."

"I can understand that," Potter said, rubbing his neck as he thought of his own lesson.

"I just hate that it has to be Snape," Rayna lied, trying to relate to him, "if there's anyone I don't want in my personal life, it's him."

"You've got that right," Harry added, his tone growing lower, "after you left he tried four more times. I just couldn't push him out, whatever you did, dark or not, I wanted to do just so he would stop."

"Don't worry about it Harry, he's only helping," Hermione interrupted, "who cares what he thinks?"

"You don't understand," Harry said before facing Rayna, "we're practicing the patronus charm. You want to give it a go? Just take out your wand and fill your head with a happy memory, the happiest memory you can think of, then say, _expecto patronum_."

"Alright," Rayna said casually, taking out her wand.

She held her wand out firmly in front of her with a confidence none of the other members seemed to be able to show and was sure she would do it in no time. She racked her brain for a happy memory, but couldn't find any that she cared for that weren't about her father or the things she had done recently that the others would deem atrocities. She wondered if it would work if the memory she chose was dark, and decided to think back to the time she had finally agreed to join her father, letting the pride and acceptance she had felt fill her head and consume her, making her smile as she shouted the words, _"expecto patronum!_"

Rayna opened her eyes but nothing happened, no spurt of blue sparks, no large, prancing animal, no bright blue light, nothing. An ugly look flashed across her face and she tried again, and again, and again, and again, all for nothing. She couldn't even produce a spark. She thought of all her happy memories, all the times she had been the most blissful, and nothing. She looked around the room at all of the successful attempts and she even grimaced when she saw a stuttering and shaky Neville Longbottom manage to produce a few stray, bright blue sparks from the tip of his wand.

"What's the matter Riddle," said a fat, scruffy looking Hufflepuff boy she didn't recognize, "can't do it because it's not dark magic?"

"Maybe it's because she the daughter of he-who-must-not-be-named…" said another Hufflepuff, a small, timid girl named Susan Bones.

"You know what Bones," Rayna spat, her low voice almost a cold hiss as she stared back at the girl who dropped her wand, looking as though she was about to pee her pants, "let's see how well your patronus charm works against me, then we'll see how well you can defend yourself and how much you think you stand a chance."

Around her the voices began to grow quiet, though Rayna was just too livid to pay any mind to her actions or stop herself as she pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at the girl, who was now trembling uncontrollably.

"Pick up your wand," she demanded, hatred lacing her voice, "now!"

Susan Bones slowly bent down, grasping her wand with shaky hands as tremors shot through her body. She picked her wand up off the floor and with a complete absence of confidence she pointed it over at Rayna, who now stood with a wicked, twisted smile plastered across her livid face, a sick, insane glint dancing in her eyes.

"Good…" Rayna drawled slowly, now noticing that almost every pair of eyes were now fixated on her, although the golden trio was still on the other end of the room attending to Neville Longbottom, who couldn't quite pronounce the incantation as he tried repeatedly to get the charm down.

"Well," she said, "go ahead."

"Expelliarm-" Susan began desperately before she was cut off.

"Crucio!" Rayna spat, though Susan only had time to fall to the ground before Rayna felt a strong blow to her stomach, sending her flying across the room and into the opposite wall, her back hitting the cold brick as she fell downward and onto her bottom.

"You c-cant do t-that Riddle," said Neville nervously, holding his wand out shakily in front of him, "it's i-illegal."

"I'll kill you kid!" Rayna spat, lunging forward before she was shot with another spell, this time she heard Harry's voice.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, making her fly back, this time onto the cold stone floor with a violent thud.

"Susan!" she heard Hermione ask desperately, bending over to help the crying girl up, "Are you alright?"

Rayna knew it was time to act fast. She had gone too far this time; she needed to get her way out of it, and now. Every pair of eyes were now on her, every wand pointed to her head as though they had just captured a death eater. She had to swallow her pride, and in that moment, she forced herself to cry, tears streaming down her face as she sniffled loudly, sitting up as everyone backed up instinctively, every wand being held higher in her direction. She pulled her legs into her stomach with her arms, looking over at Harry with a look of absolute desperation and terror.

"I… I didn't mean to!" Rayna sobbed, "Something, something dark came over me and I wasn't myself. It was like someone had taken control of me. It was like the dreams, I couldn't control it, I just got so angry, I've never experienced so much hate at once. I heard his voice Harry, he was egging me on, then I lost control. What's happening to me?"

Harry's eyes softened, though they were still hard and calculating, never leaving her as he walked over slowly, bending down to put his arm around her as she sobbed into his robes, making a huge scene.

"I don't know Rayna," he said softly, "but whatever's happening to you, it's happening to me too."

"I just want him to leave me alone," she cried, ignoring the hard stares from around the room, "sometimes I think he's gonna take over completely and I'll lose myself. I just want things to go back to the way they were, before he returned, before the dreams, before…"

Before she knew it a series of loud, violent thuds sounded throughout the room, echoing across the empty space. Now every head was turned away from her, staring at the wall by the door, where bits and pieces of rock and wall fell onto the floor with every loud bang. Harry stood up to look, and Rayna propped herself up off the ground, also curious as she watched the wall crumble in front of them. From a small hole that had formed in the cracked wall she saw Umbridge's head, an ugly frown across her face as she held out her wand, a large group of mainly Slytherin students gathered behind her, a scowl on every face.

"I'll make quick work of this," Umbridge said in a fake, mocking voice, "bombardo maxima."

Brick and drywall flew everywhere, several students thrown backwards who hadn't had time to run from the blast. Rayna covered her head with her arms, pieces of brick hitting her hard as she too was thrown backwards and onto the floor. When she got up she saw Draco pull Cho Chang up to him, her head facing downward; one thing was certain, she had been the traitor who ratted them out to Umbridge. Rayna glared at her, and Malfoy, before walking forward with the other students.

…..

Rayna sat on a long, empty bench in a nearly completely deserted corridor, her mind reeling with all of the possible scenarios and outcomes that could happen to her. She had been stupid, to perform an unforgivable curse with over a dozen witnesses that had resented and feared her from the very beginning would only end badly. If any of the staff found out –if Dumbledore found out- she would be expelled from Hogwarts at the very least, convincing cover story or not. She dropped her head, bringing her knees up to touch her chin as she stared out of the massive window in front of her overlooking the lake. She knew how disappointed her father would be that she had completely blown her cover, and she highly doubted that she could lie her way out this time, having crossed the line by a mile.

"Rayna?" she heard a few feet away from her, though she didn't look up, her head concealed beneath her hood, "Rayna is that you?"

Rayna nodded her head, still assuming her current position as she stared at the lake, hidden under the cover of nightfall. She felt two bodies sit down on the bench beside her and decided to look up, her eyes seeming to have sunken into her head with worry and her eyes bright red from crying in the room of requirement. She stared back at Hermione and Ron, a deep concern etched unmistakably into their faces as they looked at the disheveled girl next to them.

"Rayna what happened?" Hermione asked, "What's happened to you?"

"I don't know," Rayna said softly with a false tone of worry and desperation, "I'm not myself. I don't know what happened, and I don't know how to stop it. It's like the Dark Lord is inside my head, all the time. I try to fight it but it gets to be too much and I can feel myself slipping."

"You have to talk to Dumbledore," Hermione added, "he'll know how to help you. He's the only one who can, you can't just leave it."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," she replied, "I'm going to be expelled, or taken to Azkaban. I'm not myself Hermione; I don't feel like myself anymore."

"Then Dumbledore's the only chance you've got. We need to do something."

"He's having me take occlumency lessons and it isn't getting me far at all," said Rayna, "I just don't know what else he can do. No matter what I can't shut out the Dark Lord, I can shut out Snape, but not Voldemort."

"That's because he doesn't know how bad it is," Ron chimed in, "if he knew what's happened maybe he could do something else. You know, keep an eye on you or something."

"Because he doesn't already," she replied sarcastically.

"Rayna please," Hermione begged, touching her shoulder in consolation, "I know you've never liked him, but please try."

Rayna thought for a moment, deciding that it could be her only way out of the situation to agree and nodded her head reluctantly. This seemed to please Hermione, because she flashed her a somewhat solemn, though friendly smile. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Harry walking toward them, a distant and worried look plastered across his face as though something had gone terribly wrong.

"Harry," Hermione beamed, "we were just about to go with Rayna to Dumbledore's off-"

"Dumbledore's gone," Harry said in a grave voice, looking down at the floor.

"What?" Ron asked loudly.

"What do you mean Dumbledore's gone?" Hermione added.

"He took the blame for the DA," Harry continued, "Umbridge is the new head-mistress. Fudge came here himself with a few others in the ministry, they were going to take Dumbledore to Azkaban to await trial but he was gone before they could do anything. Umbridge was furious of course."

"How can they do that?" Hermione said loudly, "Surely they know Dumbledore didn't form the organization? How could they not, he wasn't even at the meetings?"

"Well it did say Dumbledore's Army," Rayna said softly, prompting all eyes on her, "now what am I going to do?"

"We'll figure out something Ray," Hermione reassured, though Rayna was secretly beaming inside knowing she wouldn't have Dumbledore to worry about now, "there's got to be someone we can go to."

"No one who would know what to do," Rayna said grimly, averting her eyes to her knees as she sat in fetal position.

"We'll just have to work twice as hard at occlumency," Harry said carefully, "block him out so he can't take control. There's got to be something we can do, Voldemort is still a man and magic can be used against him."

"Haven't you noticed Snape isn't getting either of us very far," Rayna replied, "it's like he isn't even trying, we're having to get by on pure talent. The only reason I've managed so far is because I've been reading about it every chance I get, and I'm still slipping up constantly."

"We've just got to try harder," Harry added, "we won't let this keep happening Ray."

Rayna nodded, convinced that although they were distant and careful with her, she had not managed to completely lose all hope with her friends. They seemed to buy her story anyway, even if their trust in her had faltered, there was still a glimmer of hope her way. She smiled slightly, deciding that as long as none of the DA ratted her out to Umbridge, which was a possibility considering they all loathed the plump woman, she would be safe and able to stay at Hogwarts at the very least. She was used to the rumors by now, that part of it would be easy to deal with, truth behind it or not.

"Thank you guys," Rayna said suddenly, forcing a small tear down her cheek, "it must be hard, and I don't deserve your friendship…"

"Don't worry Ray," Hermione consoled, "Voldemort has managed much worse with even the most brilliant people. You're not alone."

Across the hall Rayna watched as a timid Hufflepuff she recognized from the DA meeting walked, or jogged rather, past them, staring at Rayna with wide, fearful eyes as she held her school books tight across her chest, almost sending them flying out of her arms when they made eye contact. Rayna flashed her a mocking half smirk when she saw her friends all turn their heads away to look at her.

"It's hard not to feel alone," Rayna said sadly, "when that's what I have to deal with…"

"She's just scared," Harry said, "after what happened I can't blame her and neither should you. We're just lucky no one got hurt."

"Yeah don't worry about them Ray," said Hermione as she stood up, "this will die down in no time. By next year things will be just like they were before."

"I really hope so," Rayna said, dropping her head slightly as she gave them her best pair of puppy eyes, "I'm starting to doubt anything is ever going to go back to normal."

"The feast's about to end," Ron said loudly, standing up off of the windowsill, "I haven't eaten all day, lets go before all the food's gone."

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione spat, "all you can ever think about is your stomach!"

"What?" Ron asked in confusion, his face blank, "I'm hungry!"

"You guys go ahead," Rayna said simply, not bothering to make an attempt to get up, "I'm just gonna go to bed, I haven't been able to get any sleep and I'm really not feeling up to eating."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm really tired, the DA meeting took a lot out of me, I just want to be alone for a while and collect my thoughts."

"Oh," Hermione replied, "alright Ray, if you need us we'll be in the great hall."

The three of them turned around and walked quickly out of the quiet corridor, leaving Rayna in the same position, her back against the corner of the windowsill. On the inside of her robes she felt the familiar sensation of soft, scaly skin moving slyly up her arm and onto her neck, wrapping around to face her. Basil's tongue flickered gently against the tip of her nose. She lifted a hand to caress his thin, dark body with a few fingers; he closed his eyes in appreciation with every touch.

"_They are fools," _Rayna hissed, _"aren't they Basil?"_

"_Manipulated with ease and completely clueless to how the world works around them."_

"_I cared about them once, you know? Though every day I wonder more and more, why?"_

"_Even the best become confused and lose sight of things," _Basil hissed slowly,_ "you've figured it out now."_

"_I slipped up today, they suspect me."_

"_And not without good reason, you were careless."_

"_The Dark Lord wants me to lay low," _Rayna replied, _"he would be most displeased if he knew what happened today. I almost blew everything."_

"_But you covered it up," _he added, coiling around to her ear, _"you were cunning, you told them what they wanted to hear and they'll buy it, just lay low from here on."_

"_Of course, one more slip up and they're bound to know. Patience is what I need, though I've never been one to exercise it."_

"_You'll learn, it won't be long until you're relieved of them."_

"_I want them to suffer, Basil. Its bad enough I have to parade around them like some Gryffindor, listening to their dim-witted ideas and wrong assumptions. When I enjoyed their company, it wasn't useful, it was a waste of time; now that it counts, I really can't find myself able to enjoy it."_

"_You're not expected to enjoy it, but if you want the Dark Lord to favor you, you'll do it."_

"_I am. It won't be long before all their secrets- everything that counts- is in the hands of my father. I know so much already, this will break them."_

Basil nodded his tiny head, slithering back down her arm and across the windowsill onto the cold stone floor, no doubt going to hunt some rats, having not eaten in a questionable amount of time. Before she could register the drone of massive, blundering footsteps, she heard a loud, illiterate voice just a few feet away from her.

"Good evening Hagrid."

Hagrid flinched slightly, her cold tone and choice of words eerily reminding him of Tom Riddle, who he had gone to Hogwarts with many years prior. Though Rayna didn't quite understand why, she could assume well enough and despite it constantly bothering her before, she could no longer bring herself to care. An awkward silence was shared, and she stared up at him, wondering why he bothered to stop and acknowledge her in the first place.

"Rayna," said Hagrid, his voice rough and hard to understand, "why ain't you at the feast? The house elves made this pudding tha-"

From the floor Basil turned quickly to hiss at the scruffy looking half-giant, making Hagrid jump back a few feet, a look of shock and confusion in his eyes. Rayna smirked slightly, though she quickly masked it with a look of similar shock. Hagrid rushed forward to try and grab the snake but Basil was quick to slither into a small crack in the castle's wall, out of reach.

"What was that about?" Hagrid asked, though Rayna just shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't know," she lied, "guess he got inside, not a very friendly snake if you ask me."

"What happened to you?" she asked before he could reply, staring at the massive bruise on his eye curiously.

"Happens a lot being game keeper," he replied uneasily, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits.

"That's unfortunate."

"Wasn't that girl in yer house, er, Pansy, found with snake bites?"

"Yeah," Rayna replied softly, "what of it?"

"It's kinda uh, strange, don't ya think?"

"Why's that?"

"Snakes don't usually attack like that."

"I suppose it is strange," she replied, "but I don't see the need to put much stock into it. That snake just there was pretty hostile; I wouldn't put it past him to leave a few marks either."

"There er some nasty rumors out there about you Rayna," said Hagrid suddenly, his eyes narrowing slightly, "I heard someone say-"

"I've heard," she shot, cutting him off with a cold tone, "that's no different than all the other years I've spent here. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get to the great hall before all the food's gone."

And with that Rayna sat up and stood from her seat on the windowsill, rushing off through the corridors as she left Hagrid to his own devices. She had no intention of doing what she said she would, and instead made her way back to the Slytherin common room to get some sleep.

_**A/N: Well…? Tell me what you think? Review, pretty please? I only got one review for chapter 7, big thanks to twibe for reviewing by the way! But yeah I could really use some feedback so if you would, I'd greatly appreciate it!**_


End file.
